Louisa Jane Gurski (née Sawers, born 26 May 1988) is a London 2012 Olympic Games finalist who competes in Sprint Kayaker for Great Britain. She was brought up in Walton-on-Thames and started Kayaking at Elmbridge Canoe Club, Weybridge at the age of 10.[1]
 Louisa Gurski racing at National Regatta in Nottingham | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 May 1988 Chertsey, Surrey, England | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Flatwater Kayak | |||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | K1, K2, K4 Sprint and Marathon | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Elmbridge Canoe Club | |||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Miklos Simon | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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International results
editEarly success saw her win the 2006 World Junior Marathon Championships in both K1 and K2 events with Jessica Walker. She then moved to Marlow, Buckinghamshire to train with the Great Britain Kayaking team at Dorney Lake and Bisham Abbey.
2009
edit2009 was a breakthrough year in the Senior sprint events for Louisa, where she won a Bronze Medal at the 2009 Canoe Sprint European Championships in the K4 200m, 5th in the K4 500m at the same event.[2] Another 5th at the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, Canada confirmed the results were not a fluke.[3] She finished the year with a Silver at the Under 23 Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gaia, Portugal.
2010
editA solid year for Louisa in the Sprint event where she came 9th (K2 500m) at the 2010 Canoe Sprint European Championships in Trasona, Spain[4] and then another 5th (k4 500m) at the 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships,[5] gaining time on the medal positions.
2011
editRemaining in the GB Women's K4 500m event throughout the year, Louisa was 6th at the 2011 Canoe Sprint European Championships[6] in Belgrade, Serbia and this was followed by a 4th and Olympic qualification at the 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.[7]
2012
editLouisa started the season at the 2012 Canoe Sprint European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, with a 4th in the Women's K4 500m event.[8] At the London Olympics 2012 in August she came 5th in the Women's K4 500m final, competing with Rachel Cawthorn, Jess Walker and Angela Hannah.[9] She came 11th in the K2 500m event with Abigail Edmonds.[10]
2014
Sawers won the K-1 5000 m at the 2014 World Championships.[11]
2016
Competing as Louisa Gurski, she was part of the Great Britain women's K-4 500 m team finished 7th along with Jess Walker, Rachel Cawthorn and Rebii Simon.[12]
Support and sponsors
editShe is supported by the UK Sport Olympic Podium Programme and sponsored by Sweaty Betty, Shock Absorber and Tesco.
References
edit- ^ GB Canoeing. "Louisa Sawers – GB Canoeing". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ Sportscene. "Results archive". Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ Sportscene. "Results archive". Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ Trasona 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054614/http://results.trasona2010.com/Pdfs_EUR10/Domingo/95.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ GB Canoeing. "Six medals and a new world record at 2010 Sprint World Championships". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ Canoe Federation of Serbia. "European Senior Canoe Sprint Championships". Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ The Hungarian Canoe Federation. "2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ The Hungarian Canoe Federation. "ECH Zagreb 2012 – Results". Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ "BBC Sport London – Louisa Sawers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "BBC Sport London – Louisa Sawers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ Wettkampf-Exporter, IMAS. "Race 202 - K1 W 5000 - Long distance". results.imas-sport.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ^ "Women's Kayak Four 500m". 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
edit- GB Canoeing. "Louisa Sawers – GB Canoeing". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- Team GB. "Louisa Sawers – Team GB". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- London 2012. "Louisa Sawers – Canoe Sprint Olympic Athlete London 2012". Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Louisa Sawers. "Louisa Sawers (LouisaSawers) on Twitter". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- Elmbridge Borough Council. "Louisa Sawers". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- BBC. "BBC Sport – Louisa Sawers". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- Sportscene. "Louisa Sawers – Sportscene". Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- Sportscene. "Louisa Sawers – Team GB- London 2012 Olympic Games – Telegraph". Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.