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| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 December 1998 Cape Town, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Canoe sprint | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jean van der Westhuyzen OAM (born 9 December 1998) is an Australian sprint canoeist. He was educated at Michaelhouse, Balgowan, KwaZulu Natal. [1]
He won a gold medal in the K2 1000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics as well as a bronze medal in the K2 500 metres event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, competing alongside Thomas Green. [2] Jean also competed in the K1 1000 metres in Tokyo, finishing in 11th place by coming 3rd in the B-final. [3] [4] Jean Van Der Westhuizen attended an Elite, all-boys boarding school, Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal, Midlands in South Africa.
Van der Westhuyzen began as a marathon and sprint paddler. It was only on his immigration to Australia from South Africa that he concentrated on sprint racing. [5]
In the 2022 Australia Day Honours he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. [6] At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green won bronze in the men's K2.
Van der Westhuyzen's brother, Pierre, is also an Olympic canoeist. [7]
Ben Fouhy is a New Zealand flatwater and marathon canoeist who has been competing since the early 2000s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the silver in the K-1 1000 m event at Athens in 2004, as well as finishing fourth in the 2008 Olympics and ninth in the 2012 Olympics in the same event. He is the recipient of the 2003 Halberg Award for NZ Sportsman of the Year and a former world record holder in the K1 1000m event.
Eirik Verås Larsen is a Norwegian sprint kayaker who has competed internationally since the early 1990s. He has participated in three Summer Olympics, and has won a complete set of medals.
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today but is often used as a hypernym for both canoe marathon and canoe sprint. Similarly, the term 'canoeing' is used to describe both kayaking and canoeing.
Danuta Kozák is a Hungarian sprint canoeist. She has won one silver, one bronze and six Olympic gold medals, three of which in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making her the first female to win K1, K2 and K4 at the same Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in Women's K-4 500 metres, and bronze medal in Women's K-2 500 metres.
Marcus Gross is a German canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s.
Liam Heath is a British sprint canoeist. He is the most successful British canoeist at the Olympics with a total of four medals; he won a gold medal in the individual 200m kayak sprint event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a bronze in the 2020 Olympics, as well as a silver in the men's double with Jon Schofield in 2016. and a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics in the K-2 200 with Schofield.
Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Dame Lisa Marie Carrington is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of eight gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K‑1 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as gold in the same event at the 2011 Canoe Sprint World Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she also won a gold medal in the K‑2 500 metres, with Caitlin Regal, and as an individual in the K‑1 500 metres. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Carrington defended her titles in the K‑1 500 metres and K‑2 500 metres event and also won the K‑4 500 metres event. Carrington equalled Danuta Kozák's record of winning all three K-1, K-2, K-4 events, over 500 metres, at one Olympics.
Hiroki Watanabe is a Japanese sprint canoeist born in Yamanashi prefecture. He won a bronze medal, along with his partner Keiji Mizumoto, in the men's kayak doubles at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Yevgeniy Petrovich Alexeyev is a Kazakhstani sprint canoeist. He won a gold medal, as a member of the Kazakhstan men's kayak four, at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and silver at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He also captured a bronze medal, along with his partner Alexey Podoinikov in the men's kayak doubles at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
Stephen Bird is a South African-born Australian sprint canoeist. He is a three-time national champion in the men's kayak doubles, and a member of the Canning River Canoe Club in Perth, Western Australia, under his personal coach Ramon Andersson.
Lachlan Tame is an Australian canoe sprinter. Tame teamed up with Jordan Wood, Murray Stewart and Riley Fitzsimmons in the men's K-4 500m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The team came second in their heat with a time of 1.22:662. In their semi-final they rowed quite a bit slower but still managed to come second and qualify for the final. They couldn't keep up their good form and came sixth in the final, nearly 3 seconds behind the eventual winner, Germany.
Denis Myšák is a Slovak sprint canoeist. He competes in K-4 events and won a gold medal at the 2015 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Alyce Wood is an Australian canoeist. She competed in the women's K-2 500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and in the women's K2 500 metres and women's K1 500 metres at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2017 she won her maiden World Championship title in the K1 1000m. She has also won a string of World Cup medals. In the Under 23 Category she won two Bronze Medals at the World Championships.
Alicia Hoskin is a New Zealand flatwater canoeist. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals, in the K‑2 500 metres and the K‑4 500 metres events.
Catherine "Cat" McArthur is an Australian canoeist. She qualified to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her team consisting of Jo Brigden-Jones, Shannon Reynolds and Jaime Roberts made the women's K-4 final but failed to win a medal, coming 7th with a time of 1:39.797 over two seconds slower than their best time in the heats.
Jaime Roberts is an Australian canoeist. She qualified to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Her team consisting of Jo Brigden-Jones, Catherine McArthur, and Shannon Reynolds made the women's K-4 final but failed to win a medal, coming 7th with a time of 1:39.797 over two seconds slower than their best time in the heats.
Thomas Anthony Green is an Australian sprint canoeist. He won a gold medal in the K2 1000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, competing alongside Jean van der Westhuyzen. He also competed in the K1 1000 metres in Tokyo, finishing in seventh place.
The men's K-1 1000 metres sprint canoeing event at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 7 and 10 August 2024 at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.
Pierre van der Westhuyzen is a South African canoeist. He represented Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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