Sebastian Brendel wins the 2016 Best Male Canoe Sprint award in an Olympic year.
Sebasan Brendel (Germany) - Winner of the ‘Best Male Canoe Sprint 2016’ award in an Olympic year.
- Born: 1988, sport: canoe sprint (C1, C2), represents: Germany
- 2016: Olympic Champion C1 1000 and C2 1000
- 2015: World Champion C1 1000m and 5000m (Milan); European Games C1 1000m gold; World Cups: 3 x gold C1 1000m (Copenhagen, Duisburg, Montemor-o-Velho); European Champion C1 1000m and 5000m.
After forgetting his passport on the way to last years ceremony, this year Sebastian Brendel missed his connecting flight to this years ceremony location in Portugal to receive his award for the Best Male Canoe Sprint athlete in an Olympic year.
"I am so sorry for not being at the awards for the second time now. The flight from Berlin to Frankfurt left too late and therefor I missed my connecting flight to Porto."
The 2016 Olympic Games reminded the world why Sebastian Brendel is one of the most successful Canoe Sprint athletes the world has ever seen but for Sebastian, it's all in a days work.
"I've been preparing for this moment for a long time, and the last few years have been trying to get me better, because I knew I would meet strong competitors in Rio. I often thought of the moments in London to motivate myself when it does not work so well in the training. I think Rio's success will also help me prepare for Tokyo 2020."
Whilst his goal was to win two medals in Rio, Sebastian admits that it was a tough ask in such a strong field.
"I was just happy that it worked so well in Rio. I was only focused on the C1 for many years until I decided in 2015 to also try the C2. The training in the C2 was very fun and was a very good change to the single boat training. I went to Rio to win 2 medals, but for this to actually happen is madness."
As a reward for his record-breaking efforts, which helped Germany claim top spot on the Canoe Sprint medal table, Sebastian was given the honor of carrying the German flag into the closing ceremony stadium, a job in which he relished.
"This was a great honor for me. Germany has many great athletes, it was a huge pleasure when I heard that I could carry the flag."
With his results skyrocketing him to German stardom, life after Rio was quite different to what he previously knew.
"We had a pretty cool reception in Frankfurt when we came directly from Rio. There were a lot of people who congratulated us and were happy with all the athletes, that was a very nice feeling. In my home I was also very often asked whether I am the one who won 2 gold's in Rio. That was a very busy time and more stressful than training.
Now that the hype after Rio has subsided and he can focus more on training, Sebastians sights are firmly set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
"Paddling is still fun and I am not so old. So I will continue the sport with the goal to start in Tokyo."
Read Sebastian's full profile here.