Paris Olympics: Australian canoe sprint paddler Georgia Sinclair uses Covid to transform into 2024 hopeful
This Paddle Australia young gun with big dreams has gone from the surf to the ocean to a Paris Olympic hopeful via a global pandemic.
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She has flown under the radar for years but now this surf life saver has been given the chance to push for a spot in the Australian team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Georgia Sinclair said she always wanted to be an Olympian and compete for Australia – the only problem was she didn’t know in what sport.
The Wanda surf life saver has now found a sport that’s just the right fit with an Olympic pathway and heads overseas this week as part of her first Australian team thanks to Covid.
“I’ve never had the chance to race internationally which is why this is so exciting,“ said Sinclair who hopes to be part of the Australian canoe sprint team in Paris in 2024.
“Paris is the goal. It’s in my sights. It’s an ambitious goal but I’m chasing it.”
Sinclair made both the U23 and open Australian teams competing in Europe in a series of World Cup’s before world championships in Canada and Hungry after spending much of Sydney’s Covid lockdowns learning the skills of the craft and training alone.
“When I first came into the sport it was a bit of a crash course so Covid actually gave me the time to play catch up,’’ she said. “I did a lot of training on my own and just worked really hard at it.’’
Sinclair, who is also training to be a paramedic, tested herself of the first time in canoe sprint in 2019 and made a head-turning debut.
The former life saver and ocean surf ski racer - who won a world silver medal in the sport - finished second in a K1 1000m event and sixth in a K2 500m race in her first major regattas.
Covid then came into play with Sinclair unable to race international until now.
The 21-year-old is now slated to race K2 events as part of the Australian team with crewmate Ally Clarke.
“I can’t wait. I just enjoy pursing to be better. I am very competitive with myself,’’ she said.
AUSTRALIAN CANOE SPRINT, PARA CANOE TEAM 2022
SENIOR WORLD CUP/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM: Fletcher Armstrong (NSW).
Lachlan Armstrong (WA) Ella Beere (NSW) Alyssa Bull (QLD) Alexandra Clarke (QLD) Jackson Collins (NSW) Tom Green (QLD) Noah Havard (NSW) Georgia Sinclair (NSW)
Yale Steinepreis (WA) Jean van der Westhuyzen (QLD) Pierre van der Westhuyzen (QLD)
PARA CANOE WORLD CUP/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM: Mark Daniels (WA)
Dylan Littlehales (NSW) John Maclean (NSW) Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy (WA) Amy Ralph (WA) Ben Sainsbury (WA) Susan Seipel (QLD)
U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM: Fletcher Armstrong (NSW) Alexandra Clarke (QLD) Bailey Connolly (NSW) Natalia Drobot (NSW) Tom Green (QLD) Noah Havard (NSW) Jasmine Locke (NSW) Benjamin Manning (QLD) Toby Schooley (NSW) Georgia Sinclair (NSW)
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