I’m ready to make a splash in Tokyo 2020

It’s hard to put into words how special it is to represent Team GB.

We’re like a massive family and our motto is “Once an Olympian, always an Olympian”. We really do live by that.

As the defending sprint-canoe Olympic champ, I’m in a good place right now: I feel healthy and I’m injuryfree. And I’ve been selected as an athlete for Tokyo 2020!

After I won a gold medal at Rio 2016, I still had a few things on the list I wanted to tick off. In 2017 I won the World Championship, and I became a father that year too. Then in 2018 I started thinking about what I wanted to do next, and how I could do it while supporting a family.

It was a really valuable time of reflection for me. I came to realise what my own family had given up to help me achieve my dreams, and how much other people have had a hand in my success. And that includes The National Lottery’s players. It’s their contribution that allows me to continue focusing on canoeing.

The Tokyo Games are going to be great. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to design the artwork on my boat and paddles. I studied industrial design and technology at Loughborough University, so I’m really keen on that side of things.

Can I beat what I did in 2016?

I’m certainly going to try! I set the world’s fastest time in 2017, so I’d like to think I can. That’s why I always say my biggest rival is myself.

As a junior athlete, I was clearly talented. But when I was at university, I struggled to both study and train, and my priorities shifted towards my studies. I put my sporting ambitions on hold and dropped out of the British team. It was only then that I realised how much help I’d been given. I hadn’t appreciated that. I had to really fight my way back in. That’s when it really hit home how much support National Lottery funding gives me. I’m

so grateful today.