INTERVIEW: Olympic Champion Tim Brabants

Photo by armchairsessions

Published in Nerve Magazine February 2012

An Olympic champion and a qualified GP, Dr Tim Brabants MBE is a man not short of motivation. After picking up a gold medal in 2008’s Beijing Olympics for the K-1 1,000m sprint kayak event, and a bronze for the K1 500m, Tim commenced an 18 month hiatus from competing to focus on his medical career.

Yet juggling a successful career in medicine with Olympic winning athleticism is a fate not many of us can contemplate, but Tim maintains he’s always had to the drive to succeed. “I enjoy setting and achieving personal goals so I wanted a career that I would find as fulfilling and enjoyable as my sport. I can’t compete forever, so felt having a career path to focus on when I retire from sport was very important.”

Brabants himself came from an academic family, and being raised in Chertsey, Surrey, got his first taste of kayaking at a very early age. “I tried the sport at a local club when I was 10 years old and fell in love with it very quickly. At that time I knew little about the Olympic Games or where the sport could take me in future, I just enjoyed being out on the water amongst the wildlife and other paddlers.”

Competing since the late 1990’s, Tim came from nowhere to secure a bronze at his first Olympics in Sidney 2000, becoming the first British sprint paddler to win an Olympic medal. After a disappointing Athens 2004, which saw his world record qualifying time for the K-1 1,000 m final (recently beaten by Germany rival Max Hoff) only complemented by a 5^th place finish, Tim set his sights firmly on Beijing.

“I always knew I would be young and fast enough to compete at another Olympics”

And didn’t he deliver. A blistering start in the K-1 1,000m final saw him lead from start to finish, again becoming the first Brit to deliver a gold medal in sprint kayaking. Officially announcing his ‘retirement’ from competitive kayaking to focus on his progression as doctor after 2008, Brabants maintains he never seriously considered staying away from the sport he loved.

“I always knew that I would be young enough and fast enough after Beijing to compete at another Olympics. After a short break to concentrate on my medical career, I was ready to return to training and competition again in the build-up to London 2012.”

Opposed to Beijing however, Tim will be focusing his attention purely on competing in the K-1 1,000m at this Olympics, after the 500m event he won bronze in was confirmed to be changed to 200m in 2009. But his hopes of defending his gold medal will come under fierce competition, with the likes of World Champion, and world record holder Max Hoff looking a force to be reckoned with within the K-1 1,000m sprint. However, Tim remains calmly confidently about his chances, and cautious towards the German’s recent record.

“The Olympics in London will be a definite source of extra motivation and excitement”

“We don’t pay too much attention to records as we compete in varying conditions. The record Max set was on a flowing river course! Competition will be tough, but that is what makes it all the more exciting and challenging.”

When asked whether victory at 2012 would be the end to a glittering career or if he plans to continue after London, Tim was quick the put the record straight. “I definitely want to keep racing for another year or two after London. It is unlikely I will compete at another Olympics in kayaking but I would certainly hope to stay involved in the sport for a while longer in some capacity.”

An Olympic Games in London is obviously a special event. The last time we hosted it way back in 1948, it signalled the end of a 12 year hiatus after World War II, and as a demonstration of post-war economic pressures, no new venues were built and athletes were not housed in an Olympic Village. Things have moved on a lot from those days, which coincidentally saw the first inclusion of a woman’s kayaking event, but was regardless, a significant, and memorable moment in Britain’s history. For all members of Team GB, including Tim Brabants, to which this will be his 4^th, and most probably final Olympic Games cites the home turf as a “definite source of extra motivation and excitement”, the opportunity to take part in the greatest sporting event in the world, backed by the loving support of home crowd, will make it quite a spectacle.


Check out the magazine layout for this article, designed by me - 
http://issuu.com/tobygray/docs/tim-brabants

AUDIO: Sports Show FM Special

Take a listen to Nerve Sports Show Fm Special which broadcast live on Nerve Radio 87.7FM on Saturday 24th March 3-5:30pm.

The award winning Sport Show returned on Nerve Radio 87.7Fm on Saturday 24th March with a special 2 and a half hour broadcast from 3 – 5:30pm. Crammed with 7 top interviews with the Olympic boxer Iain Weaver, national powerboat champion Ashleigh Foulser, England u18 rugby player Charlie Ewels, BU rower Matthew Hulbert, Bournemouth Echo’s non – league football correspondent Andy Mitchell, F1 correspondent James Walker and BU sportsmen of the year and varstiy tennis star Rich Irwin. We also pit two of Nerve Sport’s most notorious pundits Rich Best and Alex Penge up against each other in the much anticipated ‘Pundit Face Off’. We also gave our listeners the chance win a 3 month gym membership courtesy of Fit Space Gyms and 2 surfing lessons worth up to £70 courtesy of Bournemouth Surf Steps surf school. In between all this, we also gave live updates to all the day’s football, with coverage and reaction of all the scores, including AFC Bournemouth’s trip to Oldham.

Make sure to tune in to the Sports Hour, every Friday from 2-3pm only on Nerve Radio, www.nervemedia.org.uk

INTERVIEW: NFL Starlet Francis Kallon

Photo by Erik S. Lesser

Hollywood stories like this don’t come around very often. Just one year ago, Wandsworth born Francis Kallon moved over to America with his family and experienced the world of American football that would change his life forever.

Admitting he didn’t even know what American football was about, Francis was encouraged to try it out by his high school coach, Todd Wofford who noticed his potential and led him onto the sport. Since then, Kallon has become a national prodigy and received 15 scholarship offers in a matter of weeks from top universities around the country, before settling for Georgia State.

Explaining the feeling behind all this attention flying his way, Kallon claims: “It was scary at first, but it was such a great opportunity to go to a top college as well. It was surprising of course, but it was good!

“My coach (Todd Wofford) pursued me and persuaded me to come join the team, so eventually, after agreeing it with my parents, I was allowed to play. I wanted to try a different sport, but I didn’t know it would be up the avenue that it was.”

“The NFL is definitely in the picture, and if it comes I’ll take it.”

So for a man that’s only been playing the sport just over a year, compared to the millions of teenagers across the U.S. that spend their whole adolescence fighting for a shot at scholarships, Kallon has picked it up extraordinarily fast. With a history in basketball and football, Kallon admits it was surprising that everything came so natural to him.

“The way I was able to move and do the things I was told so easily was strange. It was hard at first with the rules and everything, but I picked it up quickly.”

Naturally, such raw talent always creates a buzz. Sections of the British media have already branded Kallon NFL bound, despite him only just starting university, but as he explains, it’s the same in the U.S. and just something he deals with everyday.

“It’s a lot of pressure but it’s something that could happen if I keep working at it the way I am because it is possible.”

For all this attention flying Kallon’s way, he remains grounded about his chances, and instead is focused on achieving his degree in biochemical engineering.

“Right now I’m just looking to do as best I can in college and graduating, but the NFL is definitely in the picture, and if it comes I’ll take it.”

With his feet firmly on earth, Francis Kallon is a man with a very, very bright future. Remember the name, no doubt we’ll be hearing it much more in the years to come.