David Florence (born 8 August 1982) is a retired British slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2021.[2][3] He is the 2013 and 2015 world champion in individual single canoe (C1) and 2013 champion in double canoe (C2), the latter with Richard Hounslow. Florence was the first canoeist since Charles Dussuet, sixty years earlier, to achieve the C1, C2 double at the same World Championships.
Florence won silver medals at three consecutive Olympics: in the C1 in 2008 and in the C2 in 2012 and 2016 (with Richard Hounslow).[1]
He announced his retirement from the sport in May 2022.[4]
Early life
Having been born in Aberdeen, Florence lived in Edinburgh between the ages of 7 and 18 on the same street as future world and Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy.[5] He attended Roseburn Primary School and Stewarts Melville College secondary school.[6] He began canoeing at the age of 14, on the Water of Leith, and was eventually invited to join the Forth Canoe Club, where most of his training was done on the Union Canal.[5] He went to the University of Nottingham and studied mathematical physics,[7] but says his main reason for choosing to move to Nottingham was because it is the home of the National Watersports Centre.[5] His father, George, is a former Scottish canoeing champion and his brother, Fraser also canoes for Scotland. His Uncle Angus Florence also canoed for Scotland.[8]
He won a total of eleven medals at the World Championships with three golds, one silver and seven bronzes. In 2009 he won the overall World Cup title in C1. Florence also has seven medals from the European Championships (1 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronzes). He finished three consecutive years as the C1 World No. 1, from 2012 to 2014.[9]
2008 Olympics
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, Florence competed in the C1 event. He finished second overall, winning the silver medal behind Slovak world number one Michal Martikán.[10] He completed his preliminary runs of the course at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in 89.47 and 82.16 seconds, to lie 3rd overall, with a total time of 171.63 seconds, heading into the semifinal. His semifinal time of 90.46 seconds, qualifying him for the final in 4th place out of the ten advancing competitors. His final run of 88.15 seconds gave him a total time 178.61 seconds and meant he led with only Martikán left to compete, however the Slovakian went almost 2 seconds faster to push Florence into the silver medal position.[10] After the event Florence said he had been inspired by the sight of Rebecca Adlington winning her 400 metres freestyle gold medal the day before.[11]
2012 Olympics
Florence qualified for the C1 event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at the British trials. Thanks to the fact that his C2 partner Richard Hounslow qualified for the K1 event, they were able to start together in the C2 event as the second British boat in that category. Florence was a favourite to medal especially in the C1 event, but he failed to make the final after a semifinal run full of mistakes. He finished down in 10th place[12] which was a disappointment for him as well as the local fans. He and Hounslow (who also had a disappointing run in K1) made amends in the C2 event where they were able to win the silver medal behind their compatriots Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott and ahead of the three-time defending champions Pavol and Peter Hochschorner.[13]
1 Pan American Championship counting for World Cup points
2 Oceania Championship counting for World Cup points
Astronaut application
Before the 2008 Olympics Florence had applied to become an astronaut in the European Space Agency's astronaut training programme in response to an advert he had seen, and was so serious about it that he began learning Russian, a mandatory requirement for the position. However he was not among the four people selected from the 8,400 applicants and received a rejection letter a short time before the start of the Olympics.[11][14] After winning his Olympic medal he said of the application; "It wasn't a whim... It was an opportunity that came along to apply for something incredible. I tried but didn't get in."[15]
↑ "A golden summer". Alumni Online. The University of Nottingham. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing at the international level since 1994. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals, which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times.
Pavol Hochschorner is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1996 to 2017. Competing together with his twin brother Peter Hochschorner, they are the most successful C2 paddlers in the history of canoe slalom. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They retired from wildwater canoeing after the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava.
Peter Hochschorner is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1996 to 2017. Competing together with his twin brother Pavol Hochschorner, they are the most successful C2 paddlers in the history of canoe slalom. They retired from canoe slalom in 2018 after the C2 event was discontinued and subsequently switched to wildwater canoeing. They retired from wildwater canoeing after the 2021 World Championships in their hometown Bratislava.
Tony Estanguet is a French slalom canoeist and a three-time Olympic champion in C1. He competed at the international level from 1994 to 2012.
Stanislav Ježek is a Czech slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1994.
Jan Benzien is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1999. Benzien started out as a C1 paddler. Since 2012 he has also been competing in C2, teaming up with Franz Anton.
Fabien Lefèvre is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998. As a permanent resident of the United States, he has competed for his country of residence since 2013. He represented France until 2011. He won two medals at the Summer Olympics in the K1 event with a silver in 2008 and a bronze in 2004. He has a son called Noe Lefèvre.
Mark Delaney is a British whitewater slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. He won two medals in the C1 team event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a silver in 1993 and a bronze in 1991. He also has a bronze from the same event from the 1998 European Championships in Roudnice nad Labem.
Alexander Slafkovský is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1998, specializing in the C1 event.
Nicolas Peschier is a French slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2016. In the early part of his career he was specializing on the C1 class. He also competed in the C2 class from 2011 to 2015 together with Pierre Labarelle.
Matej Beňuš is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002.
Denis Gargaud Chanut is a French slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level in C1 since 2004. Between 2009 and 2011 he also competed in the C2 category alongside Fabien Lefèvre. He won a gold medal in the C1 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Ladislav Škantár is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1998 to 2018, specializing in the C2 discipline, where he teamed up with his cousin Peter Škantár.
Peter Škantár is a retired Slovak slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1998 to 2018, specializing in the C2 discipline, where he teamed up with his cousin Ladislav Škantár.
Timothy Mark Baillie MBE is a Scottish slalom canoeist who represented Britain. From Westhill in Aberdeenshire, he started competing at the international level in 1996, initially in the K1 category, but switching to C2 in 2003. He retired from the sport in 2013. He is the Olympic Champion in the C2 event from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Etienne Stott MBE is an English slalom canoeist who started competing at the international level in 2002, initially in the K1 category, but switching to C2 in 2005. He retired from the sport in 2016. He is the Olympic Champion in the C2 event from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Richard John Hounslow is a British slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. He started out as a specialist in the kayak (K1) category, but in 2009 he also started competing in canoe doubles (C2) alongside David Florence. In his last season (2016) he concentrated on the C2 class exclusively.
Luka Božič is a Slovenian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006. He started out as a C2 paddler partnering Sašo Taljat in the boat until the C2 event was discontinued in 2017. Since 2013 he has been competing internationally in C1.
Sideris Tasiadis is a German slalom canoeist of Greek descent who has competed at the international level since 2005. Son of Greek immigrants who lived in Thrace, Greece in the village of Komara for 10 years during his childhood, before moving back to Germany.
Adam Burgess is a British slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2008.
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