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