Mining Engineer or Olympic Kayaker – Jaime Roberts says why not both?

From driving mining trucks up in the Pilbara, to Kayaking for Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, there’s not much that that Jaime Roberts can’t do. The multi-talented WAIS athlete enters her tenth year as a scholarship holder as she resumes work as a mining engineer, all while training and competing as an elite athlete and studying a degree in finance as the cherry on top.

Coming from a swimming and surf lifesaving background, Roberts found Kayaking a seamless transition. The inspiration to race competitively, stemming from the news of some old friends’ success in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

“I got into kayaking through surf lifesaving, where I started to learn at my local SLSC in Mullaloo. I started ski paddling quite late (late teens), after listening to the Australian men’s K4 1000 gold-medal winning race at the 2012 London Olympics.

“I was driving a truck up north, doing my mining engineering thing, listening to the race. I knew the names from surf lifesaving and thought it was pretty cool how they were winning on the Olympic stage. I started paddling late 2012 and I’ve been with WAIS since 2013.”

“It’s been a long time, but WAIS is pretty awesome, I love everyone here.

Following the 2012 live Olympic update in Roberts’ Pilbara mining truck, the inspiration to one day make the Olympic team herself was very much there.

“It was always the goal. Listening to the boys and their success is what started the fire. For my sport, competing at the Olympics is the pinnacle. So why not chase the pinnacle.”

At the 2019 World Championships, Roberts joined forces with Olympians Aly Bull, Alyce Wood (nee Burnett) and Jo Brigden-Jones to secure Australia’s four quota positions for the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying the K4 with a seventh place in the final.

After seven years of hard work, Roberts realised her Olympic dream after she won a K2 500 silver (with Brigden-Jones) and finished sixth in the K1 500 at the 2020 Australian Canoe Sprint Championships.

“It was a massive process. But when your dream actually comes true there’s an element of relief, excitement and just utter joy. Then it sinks in and you’re like ‘rightio here we go, the next step is becoming even better.’ The Olympics.

“To achieve this with Shannon [Reynolds], who I’ve been paddling with since I started and to both come from WAIS, was pretty special.”

Following her first stint at the Olympics, finishing seventh in the K4 500 and thirteenth in the K2 500, Roberts has returned home with the intention of taking the 2022 season off from international competition.

Roberts will instead use this year to train and compete within Australia and take the opportunity to develop WA paddlers.

“I’m still training and racing in many other disciplines, just enjoying paddling for the year. It’s been really nice being able to race free. To experience that enjoyment within the sport, I haven’t had that opportunity in over five years now.

“My plan is to then continue striving towards Paris and relocate back to the Gold Coast to join the training squad over there.

“My involvement in the greater paddling community within WA, has been something I’ve also really enjoyed. I’m coaching and developing athletes at Bayswater Paddlesports Club and Ascot Kayak Club, which has been awesome.”

Currently working as a mining engineer at Roy Hill, Roberts believes that having a good balance between training and building a life for after retirement is key for her overall success and happiness.

“It’s really important to have balance, I’m studying, working and training, but overall, it helps develop me as an athlete and person for life now and once I leave this high-performance sporting environment.

“WAIS has supported me since day dot, they have always been there. They help with balancing my studies, training and workload or if we need any extra support on the outside with our performance.

“That’s what makes them so special, WAIS is like a family to me.”