Representing My Country

All those years canoeing and kayaking made the transition to Dragon Boats quite easy and I was very quickly selected for the Great Britain Team. It was a dream come true as I had always wanted to represent my country in a sport. The European Championships in Rome were first, followed by the World Championships in Nottingham 2 years later. I’m so enormously proud of my medals – 1 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze.

Why I Quit

The World Championships had been a challenging time for me as my father had died between the Europeans and the Worlds. Without Dad cheering on the sidelines it just didn’t seem right to continue so I bowed out of Team GB and gave up Dragon Boating altogether…. until the Vogalonga and English Channel World Record came along in 2005 and reminded me what a fantastic team paddle sport it is!

World Championships

Nottingham, UK

European Championships

Rome, Italy

Distances

Most races were 250m or 500m

Date

1997 – 2001