David Florence
Encyclopedia
David Florence is a British
slalom canoeist
. He won a silver medal in the men's slalom C-1 at the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing
.
between the ages of 7 and 18 on the same street as future world and Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy
. He attended Roseburn
Primary School and Stewarts Melville College secondary school. He began canoeing at the age of 14, on the Water of Leith
, and was eventually invited to join the Forth Canoe Club
, where most of his training was done on the Union Canal
. He went to the University of Nottingham
and studied mathematical physics, but says his main reason for choosing to move to Nottingham was because it is the home of the National Watersports Centre
. His father, George, is a former Scottish canoeing champion and his brother, Fraser also canoes for Scotland. His Uncle Angus Florence also canoed for Scotland.
the same year. He also won a bronze medal in the World Cup event in Seu
. In 2006 he improved to a sixth place finish in the World Championships
, won a bronze in the C-1 team, and took the gold medal at the World Cup in Augsburg
. 2007 was his most successful year to date with a 5th place in the World Championships
and two World Cup medals, bronzes in Prague
and Augsburg. He also won a silver in the C-2 team event at the 2009 world championships
in La Seu d'Urgell
. At the 2010 world championships
, Florence won a bronze in the C-2 event.
, in Beijing
, Florence competed in the men's slalom C-1, solo whitewater canoeing
event. He finished second overall, winning the silver medal behind Slovakia
n world number one Michal Martikán
. He completed his preliminary runs of the course at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
in 89.47 and 82.16 seconds, to lie 3rd overall, with a total time of 171.63 seconds, heading into the semifinal. His semifinal time of, 90.46 seconds, qualifying him for the final in 4th place out of the ten advancing competitors. His final run of 88.15 seconds gave him a total time 178.61 seconds and meant he led with only Martikán left to compete, however the Slovakian went almost 2 seconds faster to push Florence into the silver medal position. After the event Florence said he had been inspired by the sight of Rebecca Adlington
winning her 400 metres freestyle gold medal the day before.
in the European Space Agency
's astronaut training programme in response to an advert he had seen, and was so serious about it that he began learning Russian, a mandatory requirement for the position. However he was not among the four people selected from the 8,400 applicants and received a rejection letter a short time before the start of the Olympics. After winning his Olympic medal he said of the application; "It wasn't a whim… It was an opportunity that came along to apply for something incredible. I tried but didn't get in."
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
slalom canoeist
Slalom canoeing
Whitewater Slalom is a competitive sport where the aim is to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic...
. He won a silver medal in the men's slalom C-1 at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Early life
Having been born in Aberdeen, Florence lived in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
between the ages of 7 and 18 on the same street as future world and Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy
Chris Hoy
Sir Christopher Andrew "Chris" Hoy, MBE is a Scottish track cyclist representing Great Britain and Scotland. He is a multiple world champion and Olympic Games gold medal winner...
. He attended Roseburn
Roseburn
Roseburn is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.The area lies in the west of the city, beyond Haymarket and close to the Murrayfield area . It is immediately to the south of the A8 road....
Primary School and Stewarts Melville College secondary school. He began canoeing at the age of 14, on the Water of Leith
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith is the main river flowing through Edinburgh, Scotland, to the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.It is long and rises in the Colzium Springs at Millstone Rig of the Pentland Hills...
, and was eventually invited to join the Forth Canoe Club
Forth Canoe Club
The Forth Canoe Club, founded in 1934, is Scotland's oldest surviving canoe club. It is a founding member of the Scottish Canoe Association.The club originally met at Granton in North Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth...
, where most of his training was done on the Union Canal
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
. He went to the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
and studied mathematical physics, but says his main reason for choosing to move to Nottingham was because it is the home of the National Watersports Centre
Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre
The National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont is located in the hamlet of Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham, England and on the River Trent....
. His father, George, is a former Scottish canoeing champion and his brother, Fraser also canoes for Scotland. His Uncle Angus Florence also canoed for Scotland.
Career
Florence finished 4th in the 2005 European Championships and 15th in the World Championships2005 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 2005 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium under the auspices of International Canoe Federation...
the same year. He also won a bronze medal in the World Cup event in Seu
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
. In 2006 he improved to a sixth place finish in the World Championships
2006 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 2006 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Prague, Czech Republic under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. Prague became the second city to host both the slalom and sprint world championships, having hosted the latter in 1958 when Prague was part of Czechoslovakia...
, won a bronze in the C-1 team, and took the gold medal at the World Cup in Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. 2007 was his most successful year to date with a 5th place in the World Championships
2007 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 2007 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil under the auspices of International Canoe Federation.-Canoe:-Kayak:-Kayak:-Medals table:-References:***...
and two World Cup medals, bronzes in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Augsburg. He also won a silver in the C-2 team event at the 2009 world championships
2009 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 2009 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held on 9–13 September 2009 at Parc Olímpic del Segre in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. La Seu d'Urgell hosted the event previously in 1999. A demonstration event for women's single seat Canadian took...
in La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
. At the 2010 world championships
2010 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 2010 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held 8–12 September 2010 at Tacen Whitewater Course, Slovenia under the auspices of International Canoe Federation for the record-tying third time...
, Florence won a bronze in the C-2 event.
2008 Olympics
At the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Florence competed in the men's slalom C-1, solo whitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
event. He finished second overall, winning the silver medal behind Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
n world number one Michal Martikán
Michal Martikán
Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic Games gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 4 Olympic medals , which is the most among all slalom paddlers...
. He completed his preliminary runs of the course at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park is the new, purpose-built venue for the rowing, canoeing and 10 km open-water swimming events in the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is located in Mapo Village in the Shunyi District in Beijing....
in 89.47 and 82.16 seconds, to lie 3rd overall, with a total time of 171.63 seconds, heading into the semifinal. His semifinal time of, 90.46 seconds, qualifying him for the final in 4th place out of the ten advancing competitors. His final run of 88.15 seconds gave him a total time 178.61 seconds and meant he led with only Martikán left to compete, however the Slovakian went almost 2 seconds faster to push Florence into the silver medal position. After the event Florence said he had been inspired by the sight of Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca "Becky" Adlington, OBE, is an English and British freestyle swimmer. She won two gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in the 400 m and 800 m, breaking the 19 year-old world record of Janet Evans in the 800 m final...
winning her 400 metres freestyle gold medal the day before.
Astronaut application
Before the 2008 Olympic Games Florence had applied to become an astronautAstronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
in the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
's astronaut training programme in response to an advert he had seen, and was so serious about it that he began learning Russian, a mandatory requirement for the position. However he was not among the four people selected from the 8,400 applicants and received a rejection letter a short time before the start of the Olympics. After winning his Olympic medal he said of the application; "It wasn't a whim… It was an opportunity that came along to apply for something incredible. I tried but didn't get in."
See also
- Canoeing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsCanoeing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsCanoeing competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 11 to August 23 at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing....
- Great Britain at the 2008 Summer OlympicsGreat Britain at the 2008 Summer OlympicsGreat Britain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The United Kingdom was represented by the British Olympic Association , and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. Britain is one of only five NOCs to have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1896...