Adam van Koeverden

Hobbies

Playing the guitar, reading, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and mountain biking. (bohemianwhisper.com, 22 Apr 2008)

Education

Human Movement Studies - McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CAN

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

Burloak Canoe Club, Oakville, ON, CAN

Coach

Scott Oldershaw (CAN) from 1990 (vankayak.com, 21 Aug 2011)

Handedness

Right (vankayak.com, 21 Aug 2011)

Debut

1999 for Canada (olympic.ca, 17 Aug 2008)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He took up canoeing at age 13 in Oakville, Canada at the Burloak Canoe Club. (vankayak.com, 21 Aug 2011)

Reason for taking up this sport
He took up kayaking on the advice of his mother who saw an advert in the local newspaper for a recruitment drive which read "Future Champions Wanted." He wanted to participate in a sport that nobody else he knew had ever tried. (vankayak.com, 21 Aug 2011; slam.canoe.ca, 01 Jul 2007)

Training
He does a lot of cross training over winter including, swimming, bike riding, running and cross-country skiing. When the water isn't frozen he paddles over 150kms a week. (healthynomics.com, 07 Nov 2010)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." [Steve Prefontaine] (TorontoStarVideo, 19 Aug 2008)

Awards
He was Team Canada's flag bearer for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (olympic.ca, 17 Aug 2008)

He received the Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year for 2004. (vankayak.com, 15 Apr 2008)

He was the 2004 Olympic champion for the K-1 500m and bronze medalist for the K-1 1,000m, which was the first time Canada had won a medal in either event. (olympic.ca, 17 Aug 2008)

General
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
He is an Athlete Ambassador for Right To Play, an organisation that uses sport and play programmes to improve health, build life skills and foster peace for children and communities affected by war, poverty and disease. He races with the organisation's logo on his kayak. "Athletes in my sport typically put sponsor stickers all over their boat to provide them with added exposure," he said. "I saw an opportunity to use that potential exposure to spread the word about Right to Play." (righttoplay.com, 22 Apr 2008)

ATHLETES' COMMISSION
He was one of six athletes elected to the Canadian Olympic Committee's (COC) Athletes' Commission in September 2008 following the Beijing Olympics. There, he helps give athletes a voice at the COC executive level and provide recommendations to the COC on a wide range of issues that impact high performance athletes. (olympic.ca, 17 Aug 2008)

SPEAKER
He is also a motivational speaker, talking about his sporting career. He delivers a presentation called "Finding the champion within you". (nsb.com, 01 Sep 2008)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004