Tony Estanguet

Hobbies

Alpine skiing [he skis every year and says if he wasn't a paddler he would have liked to have been a professional skier] and surfing. (membres.lycos.fr, 16 Apr 2003)

Occupation

Athlete, Education Professional

Education

Physical Education, Sports Marketing - INSEP, France

Family

Two children

Language(s) spoken

English, French

Club name

CU Pau Pyrenees Eaux Vives, Pau, FRA

Coach

Sylvain Curinier, Patrice Estanguet [brother] (FRA) (larepubliquedespyrenees.fr, 18 Apr 2012; tonyestanguet.com, 01 Sep 2011)

Handedness

Right (Athlete, 26 Sep 2005)

Other sports

His father Henri was also a canoeist for France [he won silver and bronze medals in the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in the late 1970s]. His brother Patrice won a bronze medal in the C1 slalom at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. (NOC Media Guide, 2004)

Debut

1995 for France, World Cup (Slovenia) (FOC, 08 Sep 03)

Injuries

A fall from his mountain bike in 2002 resulted in a fractured arm. (lequipe.fr, 01 Dec 2007)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He began paddling when he was about five in Pau, France. As a 14-year-old spectator at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, he watched his coach Slyvain Curinier win a medal. (Athlete, 26 Sep 2005; larepubliquedespyrenees.fr, 18 Apr 2012)

Reason for taking up this sport
His family was involved in the sport, notably his father Henri, and brothers Aldric and Patrice.
"I had a sportive childhood. My father and my brothers are all sports teachers, my brothers both elite sportsmen. My childhood was defined by sport and sporting holidays which gave me enormous pleasure: skiing in the winter, surfing in the summer, kayaking in Spain. The past twenty years have been like one big family sporting holiday. It's a lifestyle."
(tonyestanguet.com, 01 Sep 2011; Paumag.fr, 01 Dec 2010)

Ambitions
To win gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (tonyestanguet.com, 01 Sep 2011; larepubliquedespyrenees.fr, 18 Apr 2012)

Most influential person in career
His father and brothers, especially Patrice. (tonyestanguet.com, 01 Sep 2011; Paumag.fr, 01 Dec 2010)

Awards
He was selected to be the French team's flagbearer at the 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing. (Le Monde, 29 Apr 2008)

General
RETIREMENT
He said the 2012 Olympic Games in London will be his fourth and final Games. "It's true that in my head it would seem difficult to keep going after London, but considering how I am feeling in my preparation with a lot of freshness, a lot of desire, maybe I will keep going after London. But in my head, yes, I am starting to think what I will do in life after canoeing. I am excited to discover new things." (sport365.fr, 01 Jan 2011)

GREAT RIVAL
His rivalry with Slovak paddler Michal Martikan was documented in a 2001 television documentary called The Duels of Sport. "It's been 15 years that we've battled against one another, since the juniors. He surpassed me in Beijing and is for the moment a little higher with two Olympic and four world titles. It's a beautiful rivalry," Estanguet said in 2010. (franceolympique.com, 01 Jan 2011; imdb.com, 01 Sep 2005)

POST BEIJING CAREER REBUILD
He came ninth at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, a performance he blames in part on the pressure of being double-Olympic champion and flag-bearer for France. "Three months before the event I was very busy talking to politicians and sponsors. It was difficult and it might be why I found the race so difficult. But I don't regret a thing." (tonyestanguet.com, 01 Sep 2011)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000