Louisa Jane Gurski (née Sawers, born 26 May 1988) is a London 2012 Olympic Games finalist who competes in Sprint Kayaker for Great Britain. She was brought up in Walton-on-Thames and started

Kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

at Elmbridge Canoe Club,

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

at the age of 10.

International results

Early success saw her win the 2006 World Junior Marathon Championships in both K1 and K2 events with

Jessica Walker Jessica Samantha Walker (born 24 June 1990 in Brighton) is a British sprint canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s until present. She came 7th in the London 2012 K-1 200m final and 5th in the K-4 500m final. She also competed at ...

. She then moved to Marlow, Buckinghamshire to train with the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

team at

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of Wi ...

and Bisham Abbey.

2009

2009 was a breakthrough year in the Senior sprint events for Louisa, where she won a Bronze Medal at the

2009 Canoe Sprint European Championships The 2009 Canoe Sprint European Championships were held in Brandenburg, Germany. Medal overview Source: Men Women Medal table References External links European Canoe Association {{Canoe Sprint European Championships Canoe Sprint Euro ...

in the K4

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

, 5th in the K4 500m at the same event. Another 5th at the

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The competition was organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). The Canadian city was selected to host the ...

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

confirmed the results were not a fluke. She finished the year with a Silver at the Under 23 Canoe Marathon World Championships in

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

2010

A solid year for Louisa in the Sprint event where she came 9th (K2 500m) at the

2010 Canoe Sprint European Championships The 2010 Canoe Sprint European Championships The Canoe Sprint European Championships (or European Canoe Sprint Championships) is an international canoeing and kayaking event organized by the European Canoe Association (ECA). It was first held in 1 ...

Trasona Trasona (in Asturian ''Tresona'', and officially Trasona/Tresona is one of seven parishes (administrative divisions) in the Corvera de Asturias municipality, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Its pop ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and then another 5th (k4 500m) at the

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 19–22 August 2010 in Poznań, Poland, on Lake Malta. This was the third time that the Polish city hosted the championships, having done so previously in 1990 and 2001. Paracanoe (forme ...

, gaining time on the medal positions.

2011

Remaining in the GB Women's K4 500m event throughout the year, Louisa was 6th at the

2011 Canoe Sprint European Championships The 2011 Canoe Sprint European Championships was held on 17–19 June at Belgrade, Serbia. Medal table Medal overview Men Women References External linksResults {{Canoe Sprint European Championships Canoe Sprint European Championships ...

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and this was followed by a 4th and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

qualification at the

2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was the thirty-ninth edition of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, that took place between 17 and 21 August 2011 in Szeged, Hungary. The Southern Hungarian city welcomed the world event for the ...

in Szeged,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

2012

Louisa started the season at the

2012 Canoe Sprint European Championships The 2012 Canoe Sprint European Championships was held on 22–24 June at Zagreb, Croatia. Medal table Medal overview Men Women References External links * {{Canoe Sprint European Championships Canoe Sprint European Championships Canoe ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, with a 4th in the Women's K4 500m event. At the

London Olympics 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in August she came 5th in the Women's K4 500m final, competing with Rachel Cawthorn,

Jess Walker Jessica Samantha Walker (born 24 June 1990 in Brighton) is a British sprint canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s until present. She came 7th in the London 2012 K-1 200m final and 5th in the K-4 500m final. She also competed at t ...

and

Angela Hannah Angela Hannah (born 24 March 1986 in Harare, Zimbabwe) is a British sprint canoer who has competed since 2007. In the 2012 European Championships she finished 4th in the K4 500m event. She is part of the women's K4 500 m Great Britain tea ...

. She came 11th in the K2 500m event with

Abigail Edmonds Abigail Susan Elisabeth Edmonds (born 26 September 1990 in Watford) is a British canoeist that was chosen to represent Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. W ...

. 2014 Sawers won the K-1 5000 m at the 2014 World Championships. 2016 Competing as Louisa Gurski, she was part of the Great Britain women's K-4 500 m team finished 7th along with Jess Walker, Rachel Cawthorn and Rebii Simon.

Support and sponsors

She is supported by the

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It was created ...

Olympic Podium Programme and sponsored by

Sweaty Betty Sweaty Betty is a British retailer specialising in women's activewear, founded by Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton. It has over 50 boutiques in the United Kingdom, six boutiques in the United States and concessions in department stores Harrods and ...

, Shock Absorber and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gurski, Louisa 1988 births English female canoeists Living people Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Great Britain Sportspeople from Surrey British female canoeists Canoeists at the 2015 European Games European Games competitors for Great Britain Sportspeople from Chertsey