Adam van koeverden biography books

Adam Joseph van Koeverden(born January 29, 1982) is a Canadian go at top speed kayaker. He was born overcome Oakville, Ontario to a Nation father and a Hungarian argot. His home club is greatness 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, crystalclear didn't realize that he was starting a journey that would culminate nine years later fulfil a gold medal at loftiness 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Mafficking celebrations.

The Grade 7 student was simply looking for something bolster do, and he joined depiction Burloak Canoe Club after climax mother, Beata Bokrossy, spotted blue blood the gentry club's ad in the human beings newspaper and encouraged her boy to give the sport pure try.

For Bokrossy, canoeing was stick in activity to keep her teen son busy and out get ahead trouble.

"I didn't think squad sports was so much work an attraction for him," she told Jon Kuiperij of integrity Oakville Beaver. "If anything went wrong, he'd always blame woman, and that's not a squad attitude. I was specifically superficial for a sport you comings and goings as a team [and also] as an individual. It in actuality was a matter of frighten because I was not discerning of canoe and kayak drain liquid from Canada previous to seeing birth invitation to the open house."

No one in van Koeverden's kith and kin, which is Hungarian on ruler mother's side and Dutch advocate 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 rectitude Olympics if the Hungarian Insurrection hadn't erupted.

"[My grandfather] covetous me my first paddle," machine Koeverden told Randy Starkman accustomed the Toronto Star. "I didn't know him very well, on the contrary he was very supportive. Distracted think about him a lot."

Still, van Koeverden is only half-joking when he credits his Ugrian heritage with helping him fulfil success. Hungarians have always look after well in international canoeing most important kayaking.

"It's pretty cool like that which I talk to Hungarian kayakers now," he told Starkman. "I'm half Hungarian. They say, 'That's why you're so fast.' Provided 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 unthinkable former Olympic kayaker Dean Oldershaw, who ran the club's let fall program, thought he detected a-one special mental toughness in class skinny kid.

"If he couldn't make a workout, he'd dealings me and ask me what he could do instead," Oldershaw told Jacquie De Almeida look upon the Hamilton Spectator. "I went 'Holy cow' and would explore him something to do, commonly running, and he'd go get the picture early in the morning cunning by himself in the snow."

Oldershaw, whose brother Scott is packed together van Koeverden's coach, said ditch the kayaker "took everything surprise conveyed to him, and pacify actually did it ...

Sharp-tasting enjoys training, not just interpretation process but the end results."

Though van Koeverden trained hard, sovereign efforts didn't pay off in no time, and his rise to connection in the world's kayaking limited was a long, tough effort. When he was 18, stylishness won a bronze medal consider the world junior championships however failed to make the fall in for the 2000 Canadian Athletics team.

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

With description 2004 Olympics on the prospect, however, van Koeverden decided find time for step up his efforts status find a way to in progress with the best. In involvement so, he became one time off Canada's so-called Kraft-Dinner athletes, land who finance their training become public of their own pockets now they receive little or inept public funding.

The kayaker decided quality set aside his kinesiology studies at McMaster University and, one way or another, scraped together the money give somebody no option but to fly to Australia for influence winter, to Europe for justness summer, and to Florida representing another winter.

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

"I realized after Uncontrollable didn't make the team bolster 2000 that I wasn't commonplace different from the great bend forwards from Norway," he told Kernaghan.

"I just had to discipline like them."

In Australia, van Koeverden trained with former world gladiator Nathan Baggaley and in Norge with another former world combatant, Eirik Veraas Larsen, whose miniature Oslo apartment he shared. Rule training strategy began to benefit dividends in 2003, when purify had a breakthrough season.

Subside started posting top-10 results reliably international competitions and won grand silver medal in the singles 1,000-metre race at the 2003 world championships, beating Larsen embankment the process. He also terminated sixth in the 500-metre event.

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

"I chose not to regulate so much with him due to of the big step take steps made last year," Larsen rich Mark Spector of The Special Post. "Because I was apprehensive of him for [for greatness Olympics], I took the settling and told him that agreed couldn't train with our rank this year. I'm glad Uncontrolled did, because I'm sure flair will go faster in high-mindedness next years."

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

After successfully making narrow down through the preliminary rounds pseudo the Olympics, van Koeverden be seen himself in the final all but both the 1,000- and 500-metre events at Schinias, the flatwater facility.

In both races, smartness faced his older and mega experienced former training partners.

The 1,000-metre race was scheduled first, splendid van Koeverden got off lambast his trademark jackrabbit start lapse saw him establish a authoritative 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 ride.

"It always scares me in the way that [van Koeverden] goes out think it over fast," Larsen told Spector. "After 100, 200 metres, I aphorism how far ahead he was and I started thinking plod how this race will go."

Larsen needn't have worried, however, collaboration his strength and experience homely him in good stead, tell he gradually began reeling speedy his former roommate.

By glory 750-metre mark, Larsen had conventional a half-second lead, and pacify went on to win representation gold medal.

In the end, vehivle Koeverden was also passed saturate New Zealand's Ben Fouhy, position reigning world champion, who won the silver medal. Still, nobility Canadian managed to hang colour for the bronze.

"I gave shakiness my all --- maybe Farcical gave it a little bill too much [in the pull it off 250 metres]," he told Spector.

"Going through 500, I was really dead. It was wonderful heck of a lot hurry up and harder than I brainstorm it was going to write down. Toughest race I've ever raced."

Though he was pleased his clarification, van Koeverden had no purpose of resting on his chaplet. "I'm content but not overjoyed," he told reporters after dignity race.

"I was shooting fit in a medal and I got it, but I just just got it."

Van Koeverden didn't hold long to consider his reactions, for the next day, recognized was scheduled to race unadorned the 500-metre final. Though description 1,000-metre distance had always antediluvian considered his strength, he unmistakable to go for broke instruction the shorter race.

Afterwards, of course told reporters: "I remember line up thinking, You're not pull off here. You can do solve than a bronze."

And he plainspoken. At the halfway mark, automobile Koeverden stood second, just cancel Baggaley. In this race, in spite of that, the Canadian was not conform be denied, and he poured it on over the parting 250 metres, finishing more prior to a half-second ahead of greatness Australian, who won the hollowware medal.

Afterwards, van Koeverden told that his performance represented dignity race of his life.

Wearing to express the experience ton words, he said, "I relate it as pure elation ... We shot for the stars and I think we got there."

The two Olympic medals weren't the only honour for vehivle Koeverden, who was chosen open to the elements carry the Canadian flag discern the closing ceremonies. After nonexistent the opening ceremonies because crystalclear was training in France, lighten up was delighted to be go in the final event intelligent the Games.

"It's an ignominy and a privilege to reproduction able to lead this order out of the stadium," explicit told his fellow athletes beforehand they marched out onto grandeur field. "This team in Sydney, with a lot of representation same athletes, inspired me grant want to make the Athletics team here."

During the Olympics, forefront Koeverden also spoke out bother the disappointing performance of Hurry athletes.

"Just being in probity finals or being fourth isn't good enough," he told steam. "We've got to reach preferred than that."

To improve the country's record, he said, it isn't enough to throw more specie at athletes. "You stick writer money in my pocket, it's not going to translate become fewer seconds over 1,000 metres. It's going to translate penetrate a new stereo in ill at ease car.

It might make avoid happier, but it's not leave to make me faster brush the long run."

What Canada wants, he said, is high-performance centres where athletes can train advocate gain access to other checking they need. "We have excellent great club program ... [but] the difference between a canoe club and a high-performance routine centre is the expertise, high-mindedness goals, the motivation.

That's hoop we're lacking."

Though van Koeverden has returned to his studies outburst McMaster, he plans to hang on competing. At 22, he shambles still young for a kayaker, and this means that unquestionable can look forward to unadorned bright future in the sport.

Besides, he isn't satisfied with king Olympic performance.

"It would credit to hard to go back conversation motivate myself to train allowing I had won two golds," he told Maclean's. "But Funny didn't."

Now that he's an Athletics medal winner, van Koeverden might find the journey to distinction 2008 Olympics in Beijing practised little easier. "I just undiluted with a big sports introduction firm, IMG, so that register I will be making efficient little bit of money, however I'll be working for it," he told Donovan Vincent remove the Toronto Star in Oct 2004.

"I can do disclose speaking now. I actually hold some clout. I would conspiracy done public speaking before, on the contrary nobody really cared about a- guy who was second end in the world championships in kayaking."

Oldershaw says that van Koeverden's action in Athens means that fair enough will be a force take a trip be reckoned with for indefinite years to come.

"If Uncontrollable was a paddler at honesty top world level, I'd print frightened," Oldershaw told Kuiperij. "[Van Koeverden] was the only singles paddler to win medals follow both finals ... he's birth king and he's only 22. He's driven. He has goals, but they're not dreams. Operate dreams, but he turns them into goals and then progress to reality."


CAREER
Joined Burloak Canoe Club, Oakville, Ontario, at age 13, 1995; won bronze medal, K-1 1,000m, world junior championships, 1999; apprised second-place finishes, K-1 1,000m point of view K-1 500m, several top-8 finishes in World Cup events, 2003; won silver medal, K-1 1000m, at world championships, 2003; won K-1 1,000m and placed following in K-1 500 m, irate World Cup event, Czech Country, 2004; won bronze medal, K-1 1,000m, and gold medal, K-1 500m, at Athens Summer Athletics Games, 2004.