28-year-old British paddler Mark Proctor decided to end his professional career as canoe slalom athlete. World Championships medallist suffered a shoulder injury last year and failed to qualify for the British national team this year, so he made a difficult decision to retire.
Mark Proctor competed both in C1 and C2, in the latter with 2012 Olympic Champion Etienne Stott, who ended his sporting career after last season. This duo was part of the C2 men’s team that won bronze medal at the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships in Lee Valley. In 2010 Proctor finished fifth in men’s C1 final at ECA European Championships in Bratislava and in 2011 ninth in men’s C1 final at ECA European Championships in La Seu d’Urgell.
“I first had the idea pop into my mind last year when I dislocated my shoulder but after thinking long and hard about it I thought getting fit again and maybe making the team again in C1 would be enough to keep the fire burning. When I failed to make the team in May, I knew there and then that it would be my last race as a full-time athlete. Canoeing has been and will continue to be my life and I feel so privileged to have been able to do it for so long at such a high level. I didn’t win the medals I once set out to but I very much enjoyed the travelling, learning, friendships, rivalry and sacrifices along the way. I know to be at an elite level you need to eat properly, sleep well, train smartly etc, and now I’ve become a dad, I’m just not willing to make those sacrifices any more. I’m very satisfied with my paddling career, I have no regrets and that makes it a lot easier to move on,” Proctor said in his statement.
He will remain in canoeing as he wishes to try himself in a coaching role. He is due to start his next chapter in life next week by coaching U23 athletes at Lee Valley.
Source: http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/mark-proctor-calls-time-canoe-644656
19.10.2017
