My name is Daisy Cooil and I am a Canoe Slalom Athlete. I’m 17 years old and attend Richmond Sixth Form College where I’m studying History, Geography & Economics A Levels.

My main training ground is the Tees Barrage International White Water Centre and I regularly train at the Tees active gym at Billingham Forum. I also regularly travel to Home Pierrepont (Nottingham) & Lee Valley (London) to train.

There is a lot of work and commitment required to be a top athlete, and I really enjoy every part of it, from the training on cold winter nights to the gym work and the exhilaration of the competitions which I travel to all over the UK and Europe. I especially love the challenge of the most difficult courses, and racing against world class athletes.

Also I am part of the GB Canoeing England National Talent Squad. I am ranked in the top 15 of the Premier Division in K1W and the top 10 in C1W.

I was inspired to take up the sport by being lucky enough to go to to London 2012 Olympics and meeting athletes from all over the world. When I started Canoe Slalom I progressed very rapidly, moving up from Div 3 to Div 1 in K1W in just 5 months, and was promoted to Premier Division in K1W 3 days after my 14th birthday.

I am the top ranked K1 & C1 woman of my age in the North of England, and am really proud to be 2015 J14 British Junior Champion in K1W and  English J14, J15 and J16 champion in C1W.

In the summer of 2017 I was super proud to win Gold overall in C1 in the ECA (European Canoe Association) Junior Cup series (Augsburg, Flattach, Krakow, Ceske & Bratislava) & Bronze overall in K1.  It was a really tough series of races, often in extremely hot conditions and I gained masses of experience which will prove be invaluable in my future paddling career.

In April 2018 I qualified for the GB Junior Team in C1W. Over summer I competed in the Junior World Championships in Ivrea, Italy where I won a Silver medal in the team event and finished 13th in the individual event. I also competed in the Junior European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia where I made the final and finished 9th – top British boat!