John Gregory | Sportscene - In the TEDx talk video Etienne Stott tells a truly inspirational story of the key moments in his journey from the age of ten, which including teaming up with Tim Baillie and the 2011 serious shoulder injury which put his hopes Olympics in jeopardy and regaining full fitness to win gold at London 2012. Etienne’s TEDx talk titled ‘The Red Thread to Glory’ was given at the University of Salford, Manchester, UK on January 16, 2013. 

Britain’s Stott gave us some insight into why the talks such as these which they have done since becoming Olympic C2 champions have been so important to him and his C2 partner, Tim Baillie. “For us, we were very keen to work hard on the London legacy in what was left of 2012. Promoting canoeing and inspiring people was our main aim in this period and we accepted that it would mean our training output was significantly reduced. We were happy to do this, mostly because it is a good thing to do, but also because we felt that we were due a little break from the intensity that we had felt in the build-up to the Games. In the New Year, our priorities have shifted. Our training is now the focus and our legacy work will be reduced accordingly. We will endeavour to do as much legacy work as we can, as we feel that this is a 'once in a generation' chance to build the profile of canoeing in the UK, but now we have got to get ready to race in 2013!

Etienne also tells Sportscene that; “The 2013 season is busy, but that's fine as we enjoy racing and travelling. For us, the challenge of working it all out has been eased because we have been awarded pre-selection for 2013. That means one less vital race for us to prepare for, leaving us with our main aim of the European and World Championships. These two races are the priority. But for us, every race is an opportunity and so we will prepare as well as we can for them all.”

For me Etienne’s slide which read; “The response to the problem is more important than the problem itself”, which was particularly poignant and I believe applies to many aspects of life. He related it to the unplanned spin part way through their semi-final run. The water had pushed them off course and it was only how they reacted to this problem that enabled them to secure a spot in the Olympic final. Tim also commented that their final run had equally not been the ‘Ultimate Run’ albeit that 106.41 seconds on August 2nd was good enough for gold.

Watch the TEDx Talk with Adam van Koeverden "Chop wood, carry water" here: www.sportscene.tv/flatwater/canoe-sprint/news/chop-wood-carry-water-with-adam-van-koeverden