Liam Lace | Sport

I’ve always loved the outdoors and being in, and around water from a very young age, but it wasn’t until I was eight or nine that I had my first encounter with a kayak, and I’ve been paddling ever since.

At the age of 16, with drivers licence in hand, I was able to start training seriously, upping the casual 2-3 trainings a week, to 12-13 and quickly noticed improvements.

Kayaking is an incredibly technical sport which is why I’m so drawn to it, it’s virtually impossible to have perfect technique and the challenge of always having something to work on is exciting.

I grew up in Whanganui, paddling on the river and training out of the Whanganui Multisport club with Brian Scott as my coach. I’m extremely grateful for the time he has spent with myself and many others, and has been a huge influence on me and paddling so far.

In 2018 I was selected for the NZ U18 squad and had a few international appearances, including the ICF Junior World Champs. These experiences solidified my attraction to the sport and I knew that I wanted to take it a step further.

In 2019 I moved to Cambridge and began studying a Bachelor of Business at the University of Waikato.
I’m now training out of the Karapiro Kayak Racing Club as part of the Karapiro Performance Hub, coached by Scott Bicknell.