Mark Oldershaw

Mark Oldershaw competed in his second consecutive Olympic Games n London and captured bronze in the C-1 1,000m. Oldershaw qualified a spot for the Games after winning gold at a World Cup canoe and kayak competition in May of 2012.

In 2011, Oldershaw competed at the World Championships in Hungary and placed in the top-5 and won a total of three medals on the World Cup Circuit. In 2010 he decisively took the C-1 1,000 metre spot at the national trials and collected four medals on the World Cup circuit. The native of Burlington, Ontario competed in the C-1,500m in Beijing where he finished 10th.

He is the fifth member of the Oldershaw family to compete in Canoe/Kayak at the Olympic Games. His grandfather Bert Oldershaw competed at his first of three Olympic Games in London 1948. His father Scott competed in Los Angeles 1984, his uncle Dean competed in Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976, and his uncle Reed competed in Montreal 1976.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Two-time world junior champion in 2001 (C-1 500m, C-1 1,000m)
• Canada’s 2001 Junior Male Athlete of the Year

PERSONAL

• Mark Oldershaw is a third generation paddling Oldershaw Olympian – his grandfather Bert (1948, 1952, 1956), his uncles – Reed and Dean (1972, 1976) and his father Scott (1984), who is currently the national team coach (his mother Connie Lee, also coaches in the sport).
• Suffered for two years before he eventually was diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumour on his hand (putting his career in jeopardy) – in June 2003, he had his first surgery to remove the tumour from his left hand, and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2004 Olympic Games; in 2005, he had a second surgery
• In 2007, he captured numerous World Cup medals, and then slipped on a dock and broke his left hand, which kept him out of training for three weeks – but he came back to make both finals at the 2007 World Championships, finishing fifth in the C-1 500m and ninth in the C-1 1,000m