PADDLER 50
PADDLER 50
Tell us about the kayak, the kit you use, and why. I race Galasport Caipi Fins, use RAAB x16L Paddles, and wear Peak PS kit. I am very keen on looking after my kit, as it’ s a sign of respect to yourself and others, keeping it in good condition, and obviously, it’ s a performance aid if it’ s in good condition. I am on the Peak team as of this year and love representing them, being spoilt with the highest-quality kit at my disposal and their support!
Tell us about the spots you tend to paddle / train the most frequently, and where is your favourite? I live and train at Lee Valley WWC, following my move here to be part of the UK Sport-funded World Class Olympic Programme at the start of 2020. However, My favourite venue would be Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater Stadium or Penrith White Water Centre in Australia! I loved that both venues had such different sections and felt like you could get really high-quality training done with them having so much variety to offer
Tell us about your early days of slalom – when did you discover the sport, what appealed to you and what caused the bug to bite? I began at age eight at Bramcote Swimming Baths, having found a leaflet and done two six-week taster courses with Rich Ramsdale on behalf of HPPCC. I loved being in the pool splashing around with friends after school, and this quickly progressed to the lake at HPP, where we spent many hours on the weekends before slowly progressing onto the flat water gates, moving water, etc.
Once I had made it onto the regional pathways around 12, I really started to find a love for the competition, not just for recreation. Competing and progressing was an incredible experience, and it’ s what hooked me. I remember my dad speaking to me after a bad race, asking if it was what I wanted to do and that they would support me regardless of my choice. And from that moment, I decided I was all in and wanted to be the best.
How different is your training for Kayak Cross from that of slalom itself? We don’ t do as much volume as in slalom due to the highly physical nature and the aggression involved with the contact. However, a lot of the training is tailored to improve in both classes, such as physical acceleration, endurance, and strength work, with different targets at different times in the year, depending on which discipline has a competition coming up. It’ s never easy to balance; however, the team here at Lee Valley is very experienced in getting the best out of its athletes.
Take us through your mindset when preparing for a race. Every race is an opportunity to showcase your skills. My mindset is to approach everything calmly and deliberately and allow yourself to be present in each moment to allow you to react to the situations without distractions. Balancing the desire to win with being calm is difficult but adds to the challenge when approaching a race.
What do you consider to be the most challenging manoeuvre in slalom? The hardest thing is piecing together a world-class run from top to bottom. Many are capable of doing it in training, on shorter courses or even on just a couple of gates, but being able to put together 95 seconds of canoeing that is competitive with the best in the world when the pressure to perform is there is a skill that people are forever searching for.
YOU ' RE IN THE FINAL FOUR IN KAYAK CROSS FOR THE GOLD MEDAL IN LA 2028; WHICH OTHER THREE PADDLERS WOULD PROVIDE YOUR DREAM LINE-UP?
You would want the easiest startline possible for the best odds of achieving gold!;) However, I also have the kudos of competing with and having the chance to beat the world’ s best, so
“ I’ d say Joe Clarke, Finn Butcher, and Vit Prindis.