A little about me...
I was born on the 5th of November 1983 and I have lived in Johannesburg all my life with my parents, Terry and Cheryl and my brother Cedric. Ever since I can remember sport has been a part of my life, partly due to being brought up in a sports crazy family. Both my parents and brother have always taken part in various sporting events and it was natural for me to follow in their footsteps. We are a very close family from whom I have complete support, which has enabled me to follow my dreams in the manner I have.
When I was 4 years old I started doing Judo and I was the South African champion in the U/21kg category at the age of six. I continued judo untill I was about 10 years old and then I took to triathlons and duathlons, where I was the South African champion in my age group. I really thought that I would continue triathlons until I was a senior, but when I was 15 I started canoeing and that was that!!! I was hooked!!!
As a junior canoeist, I competed in all forms of the sport, from sprints to river marathons. I was a member of the South African junior sprint and flatwater marathon teams, competing internationally and my best junior result was at the 2001 World Marathon Champs where I won a bronze medal.
Competing at the Olympic Games has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. In 2002, at the age of 18 I decided that I wanted to focus purely on flatwater canoeing in an attempt to satisfy my life long dream. Sprint canoeing turned out to be the vehicle that I would use in my pursuit of getting to the Olympics. I have been competing internationally at senior level since 2002 and my best results in the sprinting arena came in 2006 when I made the 1000m K1 A-final at the World Championships in Hungary, finishing 8th overall.The highlight of my career however was definitely winning the World Title, in September 2006, at the World Marathon Champs. I competed in both the K1 event, where I won the gold medal and the K2 event, where I won the silver medal with my partner Shaun Biggs in a sprint finish with Marathon legend Manual Busto and his K2 partner.
Away from canoeing, I enjoy reading, watching movies and generally being outdoors. I really enjoy going out with my mates, but most the time I am fairly tired from training and end up going home to sleep rather early. My friends are too very supportive of me and my career, and it is great having guys who understand my lifestyle and are still willing to be there for me.
I have recently completed a B.com degree in Sports Management from the university of Johannesburg but have put any further studies on hold untill after the Olympic Games.