Ben Sainsbury wins gold on his international debut at the ICF World Cup in Poland
WAIS paracanoe athlete Ben Sainsbury has impressed on his international debut winning gold in the men’s VL1 200.
Making the result even more impressive it the fact the 21-year-old, only took up the sport in 2019
“My international debut here in Poland has been such an amazing experience, it’s such an honour to represent the green and gold and to be able to bring home gold in it is an awesome feeling,” Sainsbury said.
“I was very lucky to be given this amazing shot and to get my first international canoe experience under my belt which has given me the opportunity to learn so much and be able to prepare myself so much better for World Champs in a couple months.
Strong winds created tricky conditions for the debutant, with racing pushed back, created lighter conditions for Sainsbury to paddle his way to gold.
“The weather here has definitely been a massive challenge with crazy winds ripping through the race course, a lot of races were postponed including one of mine which was pushed back to the next day, which was definitely the right decision by the ICF,” he said. “Lucky for me we got a little period of the wind dying down right when my races were rescheduled for.
“I want to say a massive thanks to the Paddle Australia team and also my WAIS (Western Australian Institute of Sport) squad back home, none of this would be possible without the amazing people I have around me.”