Don Brien (born September 1, 1959 in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sprint canoer, who competed in the mid to late 1980s. He won a bronze medal with partner Colin Shaw in the K-2 1000 m at the

1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mechelen, Belgium. The men's competition consisted of six canoe (single paddle, open boat) and nine kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of ...

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. Brien also competed in two

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, earning his best finish of ninth in the K-4 1000 m event at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. Brien began paddling in 1975 at the Banook Canoe Club in

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Dartmouth ( ) is an urban community and former city located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the larg ...

. Don's older brother Alvin Brien was also a successful paddler, and served as an early mentor. Alvin and Don were both named to the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, but did not compete due to the Canadian boycott of those games. In 1982, Alvin died at sea after a sailing accident. Don Brien went on to compete at both the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games. He was on the Canadian national team for 12 years, and achieved some of the best international results of any Canadian kayaker during that period. Following his paddling career, Brien went on to become an

orthopaedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

. He lives in

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

References

* * 1959 births Sportspeople from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canoeists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Canadian male canoeists Living people Olympic canoeists of Canada ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak {{Canada-canoe-bio-stub