Canadian sprint canoeist
Stephen Giles (born July 4, 1972) is a Canadian sprint canoeist who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. Competing in four Summer Olympics , he won the bronze in the C-1 1000 m event at Sydney in 2000 .
Life
Giles was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick . He began canoeing at age eight at the Orenda Racing Canoe Club in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia . He was a member of the Canadian national team for fifteen years, including eleven senior world championships . He was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 2012.
He was adept at both the 500 m event and 1000 m early in his career. His best races came in the C-1 1000 m event later in his career, earning the world championship gold medal in 1998 at Szeged , Hungary . In the same event, he won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics , and a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in Seville , Spain . He also won a bronze medal at the 1993 world championships in Copenhagen , Denmark , in the men's C-1 500 m event, and at the 1989 Junior World Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia . Notable contemporaries in the C-1 included Andreas Dittmer , Martin Doktor , and Maxim Opalev .
Giles is part of a long line of successful Canadian paddlers in the C-1 discipline including Frank Amyot , John Wood , and Larry Cain . Since Giles' retirement in 2004, the tradition has been taken up by fellow Nova Scotian Richard Dalton , Thomas Hall , and Mark Oldershaw .
Giles holds Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from Dalhousie University , as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws . He completed his Master of Business Administration degree at Saint Mary's University in 2011. He currently works at EastLink in Halifax, Nova Scotia . He was married in 1997. He and wife Angela (née Julien) have a daughter, Macy, and a son, Duncan.
In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history.[1]
2004 Olympics
In the 2004 Summer Olympics , Giles competed in the C-1 1000 m event. He finished second in his initial heat, advancing to the semifinal with a time of 3:52.451. Giles won his semifinal with a time of 3:51.720, qualifying for the final. There, he placed fifth at 3:51.457.
2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
For the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in neighboring Dartmouth , Giles served as Chair of Competition.
References