Video: Stott tells Sports Week it is nearly the ‘right time’ to retire
Nottinghamshire’s gold medal-winning London 2012 hero Etienne Stott has revealed he will retire later this year.
The slalom canoeist says his time has come after the C2 discipline was dropped from the Olympic cycle for Tokyo 2020.
He became Olympic Champion with former crew-mate Tim Baillie in 2012 and he was awarded the MBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours.
But speaking on Notts TV’s Sports Week, he said he expects to step away from competition for good by the end of 2016.
Stott is a reserve squad member for team GB’s Rio campaign – considered a major achievement after he suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury in 2013.
On the absence of the C2 category in Japan he said: “It’s reasonably good timing for me, I’m 36, I’ve had an amazingly wonderful, lengthy and successful career, It’s time for me to move on.
“By the end of the season I will announce my retirement at some point, until then we are the Olympic reserve crew, we’re going to be training and pushing the crew as hard as we can.”
Picture: Stott, right, and Baillie brought canoeing into the wider public eye by winning gold
He added he would always be grateful to the British public for the ‘amazing’ reaction he received after medal glory four years ago.
“It was a big part of my life and it had a big impact on everyone else, the British public really took something out of it.
“For me to really connect with people and talk about it, it’s my pleasure really. I was just really grateful. I love my sport and London 2012 allowed us to share the light that is often shed on other sports.”
For a full interview with Stott watch episode four of Sports Week on Notts TV tonight from 7.30pm on Freeview Channel 7, Sky 117 and Virgin 159.
