Stephen Giles (born July 4, 1972) 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 canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. Competing in four

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 ...

, he won the bronze in the C-1 1000 m event at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Life

Giles was born in

St. Stephen, New Brunswick St. Stephen (2016 population: 4,415) is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River around the intersection of New Brunswick Route 170 and the southern terminus of New Brunswick Route ...

. He began canoeing at age eight at the Orenda Racing Canoe Club in Lake Echo,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He was a member of the Canadian national team for fifteen years, including eleven senior world championships. He was inducted into the

Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame The Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame was established in 1964, to honor outstanding athletes, teams and sport builders in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The facilities are located at the World Trade and Convention Centre in the provincial c ...

in 2012. He was adept at both the 500 m event and 1000 m early in his career. His best races came in the C-1 1000 m event later in his career, earning the

world championship 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, ...

gold medal in 1998 at 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 ...

. In the same event, he won a bronze medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, and a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

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 ...

. He also won a bronze medal at the 1993 world championships in

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Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, in the men's C-1 500 m event, and at the 1989 Junior World Championships 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 ...

. Notable contemporaries in the C-1 included

Andreas Dittmer Andreas Dittmer (born 16 April 1972 in Neustrelitz, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a German sprint canoeist. The dominant sprint canoeist of his generation in 1000 m races, he has won three Olympic and eight world championship gold medals. Dittmer ...

Martin Doktor Martin Doktor (; born 21 May 1974 in Polička, Czechoslovakia) is the Czech Republic's best-known sprint canoeist. He was double Olympic champion in the Canadian canoe C-1 discipline at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Du ...

, and

Maxim Opalev Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

. Giles is part of a long line of successful

paddlers in the C-1 discipline including Frank Amyot, John Wood, and

Larry Cain Laurence J. "Larry" Cain, (born January 9, 1963) is a Canadian sprint canoeist. He was the first Canadian canoeist since Frank Amyot to win an Olympic gold medal in canoeing. Early life Cain was born in Toronto, Ontario. He attended Oakville ...

. Since Giles' retirement in 2004, the tradition has been taken up by fellow Nova Scotian Richard Dalton,

Thomas Hall Thomas Hall may refer to: Politicians *Thomas Hall (North Dakota politician) (1869–1958), American U.S. congressman for North Dakota * Thomas Hall (Ohio politician), Ohio state Representative *Thomas Hall (MP for Lincolnshire) (1619–1667), MP ...

, and

Mark Oldershaw 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 in London. He is a third generation Canadian Olympic canoer, fifth family member to compete a ...

. Giles holds

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, as well as an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

. He completed his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree at Saint Mary's University in 2011. He currently works at EastLink 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 ...

. He was married in 1997. He and wife Angela (née Julien) have a daughter, Macy, and a son, Duncan. In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history.

2004 Olympics

In 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), ...

, Giles competed in the C-1 1000 m event. He finished second in his initial heat, advancing to the semifinal with a time of 3:52.451. Giles won his semifinal with a time of 3:51.720, qualifying for the final. There, he placed fifth at 3:51.457.

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

For 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 ...

in neighboring

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 ...

, Giles served as Chair of Competition.

References

Committee chairs of the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada featuring Giles.
- accessed January 4, 2009. * *
Steve Giles, inductee in Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Stephen 1972 births Canadian male canoeists Canadian engineers Canadian people of English descent Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Dalhousie University alumni Living people Sportspeople from New Brunswick Olympic canoeists for Canada People from St. Stephen, New Brunswick Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in canoeing Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Canoeists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inductees