Lani Belcher (born 10 June 1989) is a British

canoeist Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

who previously represented Australia. She competed in the women's K-2 500 metres event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. Belcher won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Canoe Marathon World Championships in South Africa.

Biography

Belcher was born in

Cobram, Victoria Cobram is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. It is on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira and is the admi ...

, Australia in 1989, and lived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Belcher was a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

and a

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

before she took up kayaking. She began training at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

's facilities in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. In 2007, Belcher moved to England and trained at a canoe club in Elmbridge. At the end of the following year, Belcher was released by the Australian team, allowing her to represent Great Britain. At the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Belcher finished in fifteenth place in the women's K-2 500 metres event, with her teammate Angela Hannah. Belcher and Hannah were included in the Olympics after teams representing Romania and Belarus were disqualified for doping. In 2017, at the

ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships is an International Canoe Federation competition in canoe marathon in which athletes compete over long distances. The race usually starts and ends at the same place, and includes portages. Race categories vary ...

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa, Belcher won gold in the Women's K-1 event. It was Britain's first gold medal in the event in more than a decade.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belcher, Lani 1989 births Living people British female canoeists Olympic canoeists of Great Britain Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia) ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Canoeists at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in canoeing European Games silver medalists for Great Britain Australian female canoeists