Vawn Humphrey-Wilson

Kayak slalom

'This sport has enabled me to travel to lots of places, introduced me to so many people I would not normally meet and opened my eyes to the opportunities which are available to me. Most of all it's given me choices'

Background

Inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Vawn first tried kayaking with his youth group at the comparatively late age of 11. He started attending training sessions on the canal after school and then began competing in national-ranked slalom events.

Training

Vawn's training schedule involves a long commute across London three times a week to attend coaching sessions. He also fits in several sessions at the gym or running to maintain and improve his overall fitness. To make all this possible, he gets ahead with his schoolwork whenever he can and tries to plan training sessions at the weekend.

Watch Vawn's first training video at the Lee Valley White Water Centre with the Shepperton Canoe Club:

Future goals

Currently Vawn trains and competes with equipment borrowed from his club, but at 6' 2” he often struggles to find a boat that’s a good fit. Purchasing his own boat is therefore one of his key goals. A bespoke boat will enable him to compete with more confidence and get the most out of his training.

Next season he hopes to achieve the required number of points to enable him to move up into a higher division, with the longer-term-goal of reaching the premier division within two years.

Looking further ahead, Vawn has his sights set on selection for the Junior GB team and from there, would love to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.