Mark Oldershaw: Paddling's in his genes

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Story Content

• Pal of Adam van Koeverden
• Down in the dumps
• Fresh for the finals

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For Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., dreaming of paddling his canoe in the Olympics came easily enough. Turning that dream into reality, however, involved navigating some choppy waters and overcoming some serious setbacks.

Paddling in the Olympics is practically the family business for the Oldershaw clan. Grandfather Bert Oldershaw competed in the 1948 London Games in both canoe and kayak. His father Scott and uncles Dean and Reed also paddled their kayaks in the Olympics.

In addition to having paddling built into his genetic code, both Oldershaw's father - also a national team coach and mother, Connie Lee, are long-time coaches at Oakville's Burloak Canoe Club.

Growing up around the not-so-ordinary club, Oldershaw took naturally to the water. Besides his family history, there were also many other sources of inspiration at hand. As a kid, he idolized older club members such as Gavin Maxwell, who competed for Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Games, and three-time Olympian Larry Cain, winner of C-1 gold and silver medals in the 1984 Games. Oldershaw describes Cain as "a huge hero and role model."

Pal of Adam van Koeverden

But Oldershaw's inspiration is not confined to the older set. His pal at the club and best friend today is Adam van Koeverden, the K-1 500 metres world and Olympic champion. Oldershaw says van Koeverden was "more focused and wanted to go really fast. At first he was competition, but I was inspired by his work ethic and it grew into a strong friendship."

Despite his family's connection to the water, Oldershaw was exposed to lots of sports growing up and says he never felt "pushed or pressured at all" to go into the family business. Although he dreamed of standing on the Olympic medal podium from a very young age, he didn't really begin to take the sport seriously until he was about 15.

At 18, Oldershaw made his first significant splash on the international paddling scene. He won both the 500- and 1000-metre races at the 2001 World Junior Championships and was subsequently named Canada's Junior Male Athlete of the Year. Of perhaps greater personal significance, his grandfather Bert presented him with the paddle he had used during the 1948 Olympic competition in recognition of his grandson's achievement.

When it all seemed to be coming together, however, Oldershaw suffered his first significant setback. In 2003, a benign tumor was discovered on his left hand. Following surgery, he was fitted with a special brace that was attached to his paddle. Despite his best efforts, Oldershaw narrowly missed qualifying for the 2004 Games in Athens.

Down in the dumps

That, Oldershaw admits, was extremely frustrating. "I was pretty down in the dumps for a long time," he says, "But I never did lose that hope. I always believed I was going to the Olympics."

His belief was shaken, though, when it was discovered that the first surgery hadn't cleared up the problem. A second operation was required in 2005. That did the trick and Oldershaw proved he was back by winning both the Junior Men's C-1 200m and senior Men's C-1 500m at that year's Canadian Championships.

After winning two gold medals at the 2006 Pan American Canoe and Kayak Championships in Mexico, Oldershaw burst onto the international senior men's circuit in 2007. He won both the 500 and 1000 metres at the Canadian Championships as well as five individual medals on the World Cup circuit, including gold in the C-1 1000 at Zagreb, Croatia.

Things seemed back on track, but once again, calamity intervened when Oldershaw slipped on a dock and broke his left hand. Despite the injury, he persevered and still managed a 5th place finish in the 500m at the World Championships, which qualified him for the trip to Beijing, as well as a 9th- place showing in the 1000.

Coming into the Olympic year, Oldershaw had hoped to compete in both the C-1 500 as well as the C-1 1000, but was beaten by teammate Thomas Hall in the 1000. If there's disappointment at missing out on the longer event, Oldershaw doesn't show it. Instead, he's got nothing but good things to say about Hall.

Fresh for the finals

In fact, Oldershaw sees concentrating on a single event as the best possible scenario. "For Canada and for our program, it's better that the two of us are racing," he explains. "I'll be a lot fresher for the finals."

Oldershaw may sound cocky by expecting to make the finals for his event, but there's method in it. While he sees merit in the old Canadian attitude of trying to do the best we can, he isn't convinced that it's the road to Olympic success.

"I have mixed feelings about just trying to do our best," he says. "We're among the best countries out there. Let's act like it." As for his own chances in Beijing, Oldershaw knows the competition from paddlers from Germany, Hungary, Spain and Russia will be fierce. Even knowing that, Oldershaw believes it's best to "focus on my own race and not worry about the others. My best race has the potential to put me on the podium."

Podium or not, this will be Oldershaw's first, but not last, Olympic Games. "With the Worlds in Nova Scotia next year I definitely plan to keep going."

That's what all the other paddlers in the family would do.