Kenneth Maxwell Wallace, (born 26 July 1983) is an Australian sprint canoeist who has competed since the mid-2000s, winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at several

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Career

Born in

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extr ...

, New South Wales, Wallace originally competed in Ironman events and only switched to sprint racing at the age of sixteen. Two years later he was the K-1 1000 m Junior World Champion in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

, Brazil. Wallace was selected to represent Australia at the

2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Szeged, Hungary, from August 17 to 20 2006. This was the second time the Hungarian city had hosted the championships, doing so previously in 1998. Men race as individuals, pairs and quad ...

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

, Hungary, where he placed fifth in the K-1 1000 m final. In 2007, Wallace at the ICF World Championships held in Duisburg, Germany placed 4th in the K-1 1000m Final. This result qualified Australia a berth at the 2008 Olympic Games. Wallace won two medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

with gold in the K-1 500 m and bronze in the K-1 1000 m events. He also won two medals at the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Cham ...

with a gold (K-1 5000 m: 2010) and a bronze (K-1 500 m: 2009). He was awarded the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

in 2009. In February 2011, Wallace competed in the third season of the Channel Seven television series Australia's Greatest Athlete.

References

External links

Canoe09.ca profileAustralian Canoeing profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Ken Living people 1983 births Australian male canoeists Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Australia Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Australian Institute of Sport canoeists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People from Gosford Sportsmen from New South Wales 21st-century Australian people