Mark Oldershaw (born February 7, 1983) is a Canadian sprint canoeist. Oldershaw won the bronze medal in the C-1 1000 m at the

2012 Summer Olympics 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 London. He is a third generation Canadian Olympic canoer, fifth family member to compete at the Olympics and the first member of the family to win an Olympic medal. He was a double Junior World Champion in the C-1 500 m and C-1 1,000 m in 2001.

Career

Oldershaw was born in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the northwestern end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Along with Milton to the north, it forms the western end of the Greater Toronto Area and is also part of the Hamilton met ...

. He first rose to prominence as a double gold-medalist at the Junior World Championships in 2001, winning both the C-1 500 m and C-1 1,000 m events. However a few years later a tumour was discovered in his right hand which was his prominent paddling hand. This required two surgeries, damaged a nerve and caused him chronic pain. This also caused him to miss qualifying for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Oldershaw did qualify for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, there at

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

he suffered further disappointment, missing the final of the C-1 500 m event. Despite these disappointments he continued on in his career and his goal of Olympic success. At the 2011 World Championships in Szeged, Hungary Oldershaw came 5th in the C-1 1,000 m. He then qualified as part of Canada's team for the

, he won a bronze medal in the C-1 1,000 m event. After achieving Olympic success at last, he stated that "I am so happy. I just can’t even put it into words right now. I’m just so proud to represent Canada. The whole race I was just staring at the nose of my boat, there’s a big maple leaf on it, and it’s just such a good feeling." On July 1, 2015 Oldershaw was named the flagbearer of Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games opening ceremony.

Personal

He is a son of Olympian canoeist Scott Oldershaw—who is also his coach at the Burloak Canoe Club—and grandson of Olympian canoeist Bert Oldershaw, making him the third generation and fifth member of his family to compete in the Olympics. Oldershaw is also close friends with Olympic teammate Adam van Koeverden and trains together with him at the Burloak Canoe Club.

References

;Sources *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldershaw, Mark 1983 births Canadian male canoeists Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic canoeists for Canada Sportspeople from Burlington, Ontario Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games