My workout: Stephanie Roberts, 23, flat water kayaker – ‘The water is a special place to be’

Paddling is demanding on the whole body, not only your arms and shoulders

At school I joined in with as many sports as possible – netball, athletics, whatever was on. Just after my GCSEs, some people from a talent identification initiative came and tested the sporty people in my year. I got a letter saying I’d been selected for flat-water kayaking. I’d done a bit of kayaking on holiday, but I’d never heard of it as a competitive sport. I went along, picked it up fairly quickly and was soon entering races. It was really exciting.

There are quite a few strands to kayaking. From leisure paddling, where people go out on a plastic kayak for a picnic, to slalom, white-water racing and canoe polo. Flat-water kayaking, in which I compete at national level, takes place anywhere with a long stretch of water, much like the Olympic rowing events. In a sprint, you line up in one of nine lanes, then go as fast as you can in a straight line for either 200, 500 or 1,000 metres.

Continue reading...
Share on Google Plus
    Blogger Comment
    Facebook Comment

0 comments :

Post a Comment