David Ford (canoeist)

Last updated
David Ford
Personal information
Born (1967-03-23) March 23, 1967 (age 57)
Edmonton, Alberta
Medal record
Men's canoe slalom
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 La Seu d'Urgell K1
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2003 Augsburg K1

David Watson Ford (born March 23, 1967, in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian slalom canoeist who has competed since the mid-1980s and is still actively competing. He is Canada's most successful slalom paddler.

Contents

Career

Ford has won two medals in the K1 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. In 1999 he became the first non-European to win the World Championship title. [1] Ford followed up with a World Championship silver in 2003. In 2003 he also won the overall World Cup title in K1. [2] He was named Male Athlete of the Year at the 2003 Canadian Sport Awards, and was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. [1]

Ford has competed in five Summer Olympics, earning a fourth-place finish in the K1 event in Athens in 2004. He had a sixth-place finish in the same event in 2008 in Beijing. Ford could not get a sixth appearance in the 2012 Summer Olympics, as of his elbow tendons had ruptured prior to the qualifier, and with no time for the required surgery, countless injections were unable to produce an adequate result for him to paddle to his abilities. [3]

World Cup individual podiums

Gold medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgTotal
K151814
SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent
1991 6 July 1991 Augsburg 3rdK1
1992 7 June 1992 Merano 1stK1
1995 1 October 1995 Ocoee 3rdK1
1998 2 August 1998 Wausau 3rdK1
2001 5 August 2001 Prague 3rdK1
2002 26 May 2002 Guangzhou 3rdK1
28 July 2002 Tacen 3rdK1
15 September 2002 Tibagi 1stK1
2003 11 May 2003 Penrith 1stK1
3 August 2003 Bratislava 3rdK1
2004 30 May 2004 Merano 2ndK1
2005 27 August 2005 Kern River 1stK1 1
2006 20 August 2006 Madawaska 1stK1 1
2009 3 August 2009 Kananaskis 3rdK1 1
1 Pan American Championship counting for World Cup points

Personal life

On April 25, 2009, Ford married Canadian alpine skier Kelly VanderBeek. They have a son, Cooper. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Beck, Jason. "David Ford". BCSportsHallofFame.com. BC Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  2. "David Ford". canoekayak.ca. Canoe Kayak Canada. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  3. David Ford: Whitewater trailblazer
  4. Kingston, Gary. "David Ford refuses to hang up his paddle". vancouversun.com. Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2014.