Newcastle’s former world canoe champion Beth Gill will compete for Great Britain at the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships later this month. The 30-year-old takes to the water in Poznan from 26-30 August, with the event serving as another marker on the road to the LA 2028 Olympics.
Balancing elite sport and a PhD
Gill is studying for a PhD in microbiology at the University of Nottingham, where she trains at the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont. She has also worked with the Environment Agency to tackle river pollution.
“Microbiology is something that we can’t see, we can’t see it in the waterway,” Gill said. “If I can bring that conversation to life for people to see what’s really going on, and the impact that’s having on everybody as a pressing issue globally. If it gets a young person into science, that's magical for me. I enjoy putting my mind to lots of things on and off the water. Being able to channel that into someone else and have an impact is something I enjoy.”
Focus on the present, not LA 2028
The 2022 World Championship winner and 2025 World Cup victor is trying to avoid looking too far ahead to the LA 2028 Olympics, preferring to focus on each performance as it comes.
“LA 2028 is exciting to think about but it’s so easy to jump straight to that outcome, there’s a lot of steps between now and then. If I put out the best performance that I can each time, the enjoyment and belief will come, and you make sure that every piece is made on the way,” she said. “I perform best when I’m calm and when there’s real confidence and belief. You know when you’ve delivered a performance and there’s real satisfaction, no matter the placing.”
Team-mates and a supportive partner
Gill is part of a team that includes reigning Paris 2024 champions Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw, as well as 2024 Paralympic silver medallists Hope Gordon and Jack Eyers. Her boyfriend, Dan Johnson, is also a national team paddler in the K1 1000m event, and Gill spoke about how their relationship within the sport helps her.
“He’s fairly phenomenal and phenomenally calm. He’s firm that when we switch off it’s ‘no, Beth, we’ve closed the door on that day’. We have whiteboards with training plans in the house, but he keeps me calm and pulls me back to logic sometimes,” she said.
Paddle UK is the national governing body for canoeing, kayaking and all other paddle sports.
