Video: The Holme Pierrepont course through the eyes of a young GB canoeist
Five medals from canoeists made up Team GB’s record haul in Rio – and Nottinghamshire could help supply more when the games head to Tokyo in 2020.
The county is home to the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont Country Park, where some of the best in the business are in training.
It was the training base for Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie, who won gold in the C2 canoe event at London 2012, and the next generation are here trying to emulate them in Japan.
Notts TV’s Sports Week took a trip on the river with British Canoeing and some of the organisation’s brightest local prospects.
Rich Ramsdale, the lead talent ID coach for British Canoeing, said: “They are all very keen, they are very motivated, they are down here five, six days a week and there’s a lot of work they invest off the riverbank as well and the motivation is really high.
“There’s a lot of stuff they havecanoe, team gb, nottinghamshire, holme pierrepont, olympics, hopefuls, training, tokyo 2020, to do at home – so a lot of physio they have to do to avoid injuries. It’s stiff competition for Tokyo, and if it’s not Tokyo I think it will be the next cycle after that for them to be challenging.”
Sports Week airs every Wednesday on Notts TV at 7.30pm
British Canoeing is dedicated to supporting the most talented athletes in the Olympic disciplines of canoe slalom, canoe sprint racing and paracanoe to win medals at the highest level, with the facilities at Holme Pierrepont among its best in the country.
To meet some of the young canoe hopefuls braving the centre’s slalom course, watch Notts TV’s Sports Week from 7.30pm on Wednesday August 31.
The programme will also be on catch-up from 8pm, where you can also watch all of the show’s previous episodes.
