Stephen Giles (born July 4, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. Competing in four

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 ...

, he won the bronze in the C-1 1000 m event at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Life

Giles was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He began canoeing at age eight at the Orenda Racing Canoe Club in Lake Echo,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He was a member of the Canadian national team for fifteen years, including eleven senior world championships. He was inducted into the

Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame The Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame was established on November 3, 1964, by John E. Ahern to honour outstanding athletes, teams and sport builders in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, ...

in 2012. He was adept at both the 500 m event and 1000 m early in his career. His best races came in the C-1 1000 m event later in his career, earning the

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

gold medal in 1998 at

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. In the same event, he won a bronze medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, and a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

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. He also won a bronze medal at the 1993 world championships in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, in the men's C-1 500 m event, and at the 1989 Junior World Championships in

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Dartmouth ( ) (Scottish Gaelic, Scottish-Gaelic: Baile nan Loch) is a Urban area, built-up community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 101 ...

. Notable contemporaries in the C-1 included

Andreas Dittmer Andreas Dittmer (born 16 April 1972 in Neustrelitz, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a German sprint canoeist. The dominant sprint canoeist of his generation in 1000 m races, he has won three Olympic and eight world championship gold medals. Dittmer wo ...

Martin Doktor Martin Doktor (; born 21 May 1974 in Polička, Czechoslovakia) is the Czech Republic's best-known sprint canoeist. He was double Olympic champion in the Canadian canoe C-1 discipline at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. ...

, and

Maxim Opalev Maksim Alexandrovich Opalev (; born 4 April 1979) is a retired Russian sprint canoeist. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he has won a complete set of medals in the C-1 500 m event (gold: 2008, silver: 2000, bronze: 2004). Opalev's potential ...

. Giles is part of a long line of successful

paddlers in the C-1 discipline including

Frank Amyot Francis Amyot (September 14, 1904 – November 21, 1962) was a Canadian sprint canoeist who competed in the 1930s. He won Canada's only gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography Amyot was born in Thornhill, Ontario. On June 18, 1933 ...

, John Wood, and

Larry Cain Laurence J. Cain, (born January 9, 1963) is a Canadian sprint canoeist. He was the first Canadian canoeist since Frank Amyot to win an Olympic gold medal in canoeing. Early life Cain was born in Toronto, Ontario. He attended Oakville Trafalga ...

. Since Giles' retirement in 2004, the tradition has been taken up by fellow Nova Scotian Richard Dalton, Thomas Hall, and

Mark Oldershaw Mark Oldershaw (born February 7, 1983) is a Canadian canoe racing, sprint canoeist. Oldershaw won the bronze medal in the C-1 1000 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He is a third generation Canadian Olympic canoer, fifth family member ...

. Giles holds

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

, as well as an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

. He completed his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree at Saint Mary's University in 2011. He currently works at EastLink in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. He was married in 1997. He and wife Angela (née Julien) have a daughter, Macy, and a son, Duncan. In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history.

2004 Olympics

In the

2004 Summer 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 ...

, Giles competed in the C-1 1000 m event. He finished second in his initial heat, advancing to the semifinal with a time of 3:52.451. Giles won his semifinal with a time of 3:51.720, qualifying for the final. There, he placed fifth at 3:51.457.

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

For the

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The competition was organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). The Canadian city was selected to host the ...

in neighboring Dartmouth, Giles served as Chair of Competition.

References

Committee chairs of the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada featuring Giles.
- accessed January 4, 2009. *
Steve Giles, inductee in Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Stephen 1972 births Canadian male canoeists Canadian engineers Canadian people of English descent Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Dalhousie University alumni Living people Olympic canoeists for Canada People from St. Stephen, New Brunswick Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games gold medalists in canoeing Pan American Games silver medalists in canoeing Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Canoeists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Aquatic sportspeople from New Brunswick