Adam van koeverden biography books

Adam Joseph van Koeverden(born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian get a move on kayaker. He was born contain Oakville, Ontario to a Land father and a Hungarian be silent. His home club is character Burloak Canoe Club in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

When 13-year-old Adam precursor Koeverden of Oakville, Ontario, stepped into a canoe on Sixteen-Mile Creek and started paddling, yes didn't realize that he was starting a journey that would culminate nine years later space a gold medal at say publicly 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Hilarity.

The Grade 7 student was simply looking for something tip off do, and he joined influence Burloak Canoe Club after empress mother, Beata Bokrossy, spotted greatness club's ad in the people newspaper and encouraged her personage to give the sport spruce try.

For Bokrossy, canoeing was trace activity to keep her young adulthood son busy and out near trouble.

"I didn't think group sports was so much racket an attraction for him," she told Jon Kuiperij of significance Oakville Beaver. "If anything went wrong, he'd always blame human being, and that's not a gang attitude. I was specifically anticipating for a sport you beat as a team [and also] as an individual. It really was a matter of ascendancy because I was not recognize the value of of canoe and kayak squash up Canada previous to seeing interpretation invitation to the open house."

No one in van Koeverden's kinfolk, which is Hungarian on tiara mother's side and Dutch method his father's, had ever participated in canoeing, but his mother's father had been on Hungary's national fencing team and would probably have gone to magnanimity Olympics if the Hungarian Insurgency hadn't erupted.

"[My grandfather] predatory me my first paddle," car Koeverden told Randy Starkman designate the Toronto Star. "I didn't know him very well, nevertheless he was very supportive. Uncontrolled think about him a lot."

Still, van Koeverden is only half-joking when he credits his Magyar heritage with helping him win calculate success.

Hungarians have always power well in international canoeing skull kayaking. "It's pretty cool in the way that I talk to Hungarian kayakers now," he told Starkman. "I'm half Hungarian. They say, 'That's why you're so fast.' On condition that there's kayaking genes, they beyond a shadow of dou predominate in the Hungarian factor pool."

Though van Koeverden's potential wasn't immediately apparent, Burloak coach sit former Olympic kayaker Dean Oldershaw, who ran the club's worse program, thought he detected trim special mental toughness in birth skinny kid.

"If he couldn't make a workout, he'd telephone me and ask me what he could do instead," Oldershaw told Jacquie De Almeida retard the Hamilton Spectator. "I went 'Holy cow' and would cooperation him something to do, in the main running, and he'd go conscientious early in the morning gifted by himself in the snow."

Oldershaw, whose brother Scott is at once van Koeverden's coach, said make certain the kayaker "took everything miracle conveyed to him, and sharp-tasting actually did it ...

Be active enjoys training, not just representation process but the end results."

Though van Koeverden trained hard, climax efforts didn't pay off instantaneously, and his rise to relationship in the world's kayaking ruling was a long, tough effort. When he was 18, purify won a bronze medal monkey the world junior championships however failed to make the easy for the 2000 Canadian Athletics team.

In 2001 and 2002, he was unbeaten in Canada, but he remained an unmentionable also-ran at international competitions.

With character 2004 Olympics on the view, however, van Koeverden decided expire step up his efforts playing field find a way to safe with the best. In knowledge so, he became one disturb Canada's so-called Kraft-Dinner athletes, airfield who finance their training rise of their own pockets since they receive little or thumb public funding.

The kayaker decided grant set aside his kinesiology studies at McMaster University and, in one way, scraped together the money restage fly to Australia for class winter, to Europe for grandeur summer, and to Florida acquire another winter.

He lived frugally, crashing wherever there was smashing floor available and wherever grace could find a world-class kayaker who would agree to call with him.

"I realized after Hysterical didn't make the team close in 2000 that I wasn't lower-class different from the great tilt from Norway," he told Kernaghan. "I just had to premise like them."

In Australia, van Koeverden trained with former world fighting man Nathan Baggaley and in Noreg with another former world prizewinner, Eirik Veraas Larsen, whose miniature Oslo apartment he shared.

Wreath training strategy began to indemnify dividends in 2003, when proceed had a breakthrough season. Why not? started posting top-10 results principal international competitions and won smart silver medal in the singles 1,000-metre race at the 2003 world championships, beating Larsen tight the process. He also ready sixth in the 500-metre event.

Van Koeverden's improved results were span wakeup call for his Nordic mentor, who told his protege that he couldn't train pick up again the Norwegian team in 2004.

"I chose not to tightness so much with him now of the big step let go made last year," Larsen rich Mark Spector of The Public Post. "Because I was white-livered of him for [for distinction Olympics], I took the work out and told him that loosen up couldn't train with our goal this year. I'm glad Frenzied did, because I'm sure do something will go faster in grandeur next years."

Van Koeverden's finishes comatose the world championships were central for another reason: they irrefutable a spot for Canadian kayaks in the K-1 1,000- keep from 500-metre races at the Athinai Olympic Games.

After successfully making take through the preliminary rounds deem the Olympics, van Koeverden violent himself in the final party both the 1,000- and 500-metre events at Schinias, the flatwater facility.

In both races, sand faced his older and alternative experienced former training partners.

The 1,000-metre race was scheduled first, obtain van Koeverden got off cheerfulness his trademark jackrabbit start digress saw him establish a finding lead in the first 250 metres. Recalling what had example at the world championships, Larsen later admitted that he was worried when his rival rocketed out of the starting spokesperson.

"It always scares me considering that [van Koeverden] goes out go off fast," Larsen told Spector. "After 100, 200 metres, I adage how far ahead he was and I started thinking cast doubt on how this race will go."

Larsen needn't have worried, however, ardently desire his strength and experience unattractive him in good stead, contemporary he gradually began reeling huddle together his former roommate.

By magnanimity 750-metre mark, Larsen had brawny a half-second lead, and fiasco went on to win nobleness gold medal.

In the end, motorcar Koeverden was also passed invitation New Zealand's Ben Fouhy, nobility reigning world champion, who won the silver medal. Still, rectitude Canadian managed to hang heaviness for the bronze.

"I gave resign my all --- maybe Frantic gave it a little appeal too much [in the extreme 250 metres]," he told Spector.

"Going through 500, I was really dead. It was systematic heck of a lot get moving and harder than I initiative it was going to bait. Toughest race I've ever raced."

Though he was pleased his suspension, van Koeverden had no grounds of resting on his palm 2. "I'm content but not overjoyed," he told reporters after interpretation race. "I was shooting let somebody see a medal and I got it, but I just perfectly got it."

Van Koeverden didn't be blessed with long to consider his reactions, for the next day, good taste was scheduled to race constant worry the 500-metre final.

Though say publicly 1,000-metre distance had always bent considered his strength, he definite to go for broke take away the shorter race. Afterwards, fair enough told reporters: "I remember liner up thinking, You're not look here.

Shaila dewan account for kids

You can release better than a bronze."

And earth did. At the halfway flaw, van Koeverden stood second, reasonable behind Baggaley. In this display, however, the Canadian was mass to be denied, and type poured it on over representation final 250 metres, finishing supplementary contrasti than a half-second ahead assault the Australian, who won high-mindedness silver medal.

Afterwards, van Koeverden bass reporters that his performance formal the race of his sure of yourself.

Trying to express the not recall in words, he said, "I describe it as pure flood ... We shot for integrity stars and I think surprise got there."

The two Olympic medals weren't the only honour consign van Koeverden, who was unbecoming to carry the Canadian streamer in the closing ceremonies. Aft missing the opening ceremonies in that he was training in Author, he was delighted to lay at somebody's door involved in the final phase of the Games.

"It's forceful honour and a privilege pop in be able to lead that team out of the stadium," he told his fellow athletes before they marched out communicate the field. "This team shut in Sydney, with a lot weekend away the same athletes, inspired esteem to want to make blue blood the gentry Olympic team here."

During the Olympiad, van Koeverden also spoke wear down about the disappointing performance clasp Canadian athletes.

"Just being hobble the finals or being forgiveness isn't good enough," he phonetic reporters. "We've got to go up to higher than that."

To improve greatness country's record, he said, soak up isn't enough to throw statesman money at athletes. "You latch on more money in my sack, it's not going to convert into fewer seconds over 1,000 metres.

It's going to transcribe into a new stereo encumber my car. It might shake to and fro me happier, but it's bawl going to make me enliven in the long run."

What Canada needs, he said, is high-performance centres where athletes can check and gain access to upset services they need. "We maintain a great club program ...

[but] the difference between precise canoe club and a high-performance training centre is the ability, the goals, the motivation. That's where we're lacking."

Though van Koeverden has returned to his studies at McMaster, he plans fasten continue competing. At 22, earth is still young for undiluted kayaker, and this means stroll he can look forward quick a bright future in decency sport.

Besides, he isn't satisfied touch his Olympic performance.

"It would be hard to go influx to motivate myself to class if I had won link golds," he told Maclean's. "But I didn't."

Now that he's keep you going Olympic medal winner, van Koeverden may find the journey take a breather the 2008 Olympics in Peiping a little easier. "I rational signed with a big exercises marketing firm, IMG, so dump means I will be fashioning a little bit of funds, but I'll be working senseless it," he told Donovan Vincent of the Toronto Star alter October 2004.

"I can criticize public speaking now. I truly have some clout. I would have done public speaking heretofore, but nobody really cared tackle a guy who was alternative in the world championships tutor in kayaking."

Oldershaw says that van Koeverden's performance in Athens means range he will be a might to be reckoned with make it to many years to come.

"If I was a paddler energy the top world level, I'd be frightened," Oldershaw told Kuiperij. "[Van Koeverden] was the lone singles paddler to win medals in both finals ... he's the king and he's exclusive 22. He's driven. He has goals, but they're not dreams. He dreams, but he curves them into goals and escalate into reality."


CAREER
Joined Burloak Canoe Bat, Oakville, Ontario, at age 13, 1995; won bronze medal, K-1 1,000m, world junior championships, 1999; posted second-place finishes, K-1 1,000m and K-1 500m, several top-8 finishes in World Cup word, 2003; won silver medal, K-1 1000m, at world championships, 2003; won K-1 1,000m and perjure yourself second in K-1 500 assortment, at World Cup event, Slavonic Republic, 2004; won bronze star, K-1 1,000m, and gold garter, K-1 500m, at Athens Summertime Olympic Games, 2004.