Noah Hazelwood

Canoe Slalom Athlete

Profile: Noah Hazelwood is 12 years old and a canoe slalom athlete.

He is the number 1 ranked slalom athlete in his age band in Great Britain, both in canoe and kayak and he paddles in three categories of boat, kayak, canoe and two-man canoe (with his partner Robert Harratt.) Noah is currently the only athlete of his age to achieve promotion to Division 1 in all three boats.

Having gained promotion to Division 1 in kayak at the age of only 11, 2011 has been a great first season for one so young and has improved Noah's ranking considerably for 2012 despite competing against athletes of all age bands.

His achievements in 2010 gained him a place on the England team in the Pan-Celtic Cup (Home Nations) in 2011 representing his country, in his age category, for the first time.

He has also earned a place, for the second year running, in the Under 14 England Slalom Training Squad; which provides support from national coaches throughout the winter and race support during the season.

In 2012 Noah is due to step up to the age 14 band, so it will provide new challenges for him as he will be the youngest in this age group.

Although currently too young to represent Great Britain internationally, this is Noah’s aim for the future. He is keen to use the intervening years to improve his talent and performance to make this happen.

Noah has paddled all the major courses in Great Britain and has been fortunate enough to paddle water of an international standard at L'Argentière la Bessée in the French Alps (venue for the French and European championships.) He has also paddled on the new Olympic course at Lee Valley in Hertfordshire, which is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.

Noah’s seemingly natural ability continues to improve and the next couple of years, when he hits a growth spurt should be an interesting time.