Clint David Robinson, OAM, born 27 July 1972, is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

sprint kayaker and

surf lifesaver Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, in ...

. He won three medals at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

: gold in the K-1 1000 meters at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, silver in the K-2 500 meters at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, and bronze in the K-1 1000 meters at the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Career

Robinson was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and grew up in

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 12,145 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital ...

on the Sunshine Coast of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He won the Cadet Malibu Board Race at the 1987 National Surf Lifesaving Championships as a junior surf lifesaver. The following year, he was invited to train with the Australian Olympic kayak squad. He went on to compete in five

. At the

, Robinson won the gold medal in the K-1 1000m event, becoming Australia's first Olympic gold medalist in canoe/kayak. He defeated Knut Holmann, the reigning World Champion from Norway. After the race, Robinson reportedly experienced dehydration, delaying his doping analysis urine sample provision for several hours. At the

, he won bronze in the K-1 1000m event. At the

, Robinson and Nathan Baggaley won silver in the K-2 500 m event. Robinson won four medals at the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They ...

: gold in the K-1 1000m in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, two silvers (K-1 1000m:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

; K-4 10000m:

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

), and bronze in the K-2 500m in 1994. Robinson received an OAM for his national championship record as a surf lifesaver (30 gold medals). He was a promising young rugby league footballer, but his sporting ambition was set from age 12, while watching the 1984 Los Angeles Games when he declared his intention to win an Olympic gold medal. He competed in the Uncle Toby's Super Series (Professional Iron Man circuit) from 1989 to 1995, focusing on the board and ski legs. Due to his kayak training, his Iron Man circuit performance was affected by limited swimming and running training. Robinson continued competing in surf lifesaving, representing Australia in 1993, 1995, and 1999. In 1999, he surpassed Trevor Hendy's record of 23 national titles. By the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, he had 36 titles. In 2013, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for his contributions to swimming, canoe/kayak, and surf lifesaving. Robinson has won Australian titles in ski and board races, board rescue, board relay, double ski, ski relay, and Taplin relay. His 13 open-age individual titles are second only to Ky Hurst. He was inducted into the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

'Best of the Best' in 2001. In 2017, he became head coach of Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club after coaching water skiing there in 2016. Robinson is a media professional, working as a commentator and

sports presenter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadca ...

. He joined

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...

in 1998 as a sports presenter on the Sunshine Coast edition of ''

WIN News ''WIN News'' is a local television news service in parts of regional Australia, produced by WIN Television. 14 regional bulletins and news update services are presented from WIN's headquarters in Wollongong, and until 2021 included production ...

'', having previously commentated on their "Maroochy Surf Classic" coverage.WIN News presenter profile: Clint Robinson, WIN Television website, www.wintv.com.au, 28 July 2000.

References

External links

Australian Olympic Committee profile
* * * *Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Kayak Singles 1000 Meters". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 473. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Clint 1972 births Sportspeople from the Sunshine Coast Australian Institute of Sport canoeists Australian male canoeists Australian surf lifesavers Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic canoeists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Sportspeople from Brisbane Olympic medalists in canoeing Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from Queensland