(2017 ☆ ARCHIVED) Laia Sorribes - Spain

LAIA SORRIBES (Spain) - Nominee for 2017 Junior of the Year 

• Born: 1999, Sport: Canoe Slalom, Represents: Spain
• 2017: Gold Junior European Slalom Championships

When talking about tough athletes, Laia Sorribes name would definitely come close to topping the list. Nursing a severe wrist injury, the 18 year old from Spain achieved some huge results in 2017 without complaining once.

Her first big win of 2017 came at the European Championships, where she won the junior category. On top of this win, her time of 110.28 seconds would have also seen her crowned as the U23 Champion. As the toughest continental championship in the world, this is no mean feat.

Even though these results in itself are enough to earn huge accolades, Laia achieved these with a major wrist injury, which saw her finish every training session in tears. Coming into the European Championships she should have stopped paddling to allow it to heal, but stopping is not something she has learnt. She was committed to train as much as her training partners and competitors. Any other athlete would have given up, but she didn’t.

At only 18 years old, Laia has become an inspiration to the whole Spanish team and many of her competitors. Her persistence and never give up attitude is well beyond her years. As a result, whether she won the championships or not, she would have been a winner in her supporter’s eyes.

This is a 2017 archived nominee. Voting has closed.