Get To Know Our Inspirational Athletes – Etienne Stott
Introducing: Etienne Stott – London 2012 Olympic gold medalist, environmental campaigner and activist
At Inspirational Athletes, we’re proud to work with an incredible team of sportspeople who inspire young people across the UK every day. Our Get to Know Our Athletes series is your chance to hear directly from them – in their own words.
These videos are a chance for our Inspirational Athletes to answers some quickfire questions, sharing a bit more about who they are, what drives them, and what sport has taught them along the way.
Etienne Stott helped in making an impact to young people’s lives and raising aspirations whilst working on the Sporting Champions programme.
Etienne first tried canoeing with the St. Andrews Scouts in Bedford when he was around 10 years old. Over the next few years he became more enthusiastic until he joined his local canoe club, Viking Kayak Club, and started racing in 1992.
Etienne started training seriously around the age of 14, making the GB Junior team for the first time in 1995.
Etienne Stott teamed up with Tim Baillie and switched over to Canoe Double category in 2004, after struggling with injuries. They narrowly missed out on the Beijing Games in 2008, which was a devastating blow, but they decided to continue towards London 2012 after some tough thinking.
The London 2012 Olympic Games were Etienne and Tim’s first Olympics and winning the Gold Medal was both historic (the first ever in the sport of canoe slalom) and dramatic.
They narrowly beat their British rivals into the Silver medal position, helping Team GB climb up to an incredible 3rd in the medal table during what was arguably Britain’s best ever summer of sport.
