Planet Canoe

In our final episode of "How Sport Stars Cope in Covid-19 Lockdown" Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist tells us what it is like being an elite athlete in a country of 2 million, how Covid-19 has changed his sporting outlook, and the thrill of a possible fourth Olympic Games.

Stand up paddling world, European and Australian champion Michael Booth joins us to talk about life during lockdown, his plans for the future, why SUP is taking off around the world, and should it be in the Olympics.

German Ricarda Funk has already qualified to contest the canoe slalom at the Tokyo Olympics, which will be her first Games. American Kaitlyn Verfuerth is hoping to go to her fourth Paralympics, but her first in paracanoe after previously contesting tennis. She still has to qualify for Tokyo. Both athletes have had their preparations seriously disrupted by covid-19. In our fourth ICF podcast, Ricarda and Kaitlyn talk about how they are coping with lockdown, how it affects them mentally and physically, and what they do to pass the time. Spoiler alert: one of our athletes spends a lot of time watching Harry Potter movies!

In our third sport podcast we chat with Denmark's 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Rene Poulsen, 2016 Paralympian Scott Martlew from New Zealand, and Austria's 2014 Youth Olympic Games gold medalist, Nadine Weratschnig.

They talk about how they are coping with lockdown, what their thoughts are about the next 12 months, and give tips on what to watch, read and do to pass those long hours indoors..

In this second episode of 'How Sport Stars Cope in Covid-19' we talk to Rio 2016 Olympic canoe sprint gold medalist Tom Leibscher of Germany, Australia's canoe slalom Olympic silver and bronze medalist Jessica Fox, and Paralympic silver and bronze medalist Charlotte Henshaw of Great Britain about how they are coping with coronavirus restrictions. Like all athletes, its a struggle, but they are not losing sight of the bigger picture.

The coronavirus has turned the world on its head, and everyone is learning new ways to cope. Among them are the world's best athletes. Join our chat with world and European canoe slalom champion Alexander Slafkovsky of Slovakia, Olympic canoe sprint athlete Linnea Stensils of Sweden, and Australian Paralympic gold medalist Curtis McGrath, as they talk us through how the virus is affecting them mentally and physically, and how they feel about the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Their situation is similar to a lot of sport stars around the globe - and with Covid-19 set to change the way athletes train and prepare, its going to provide lots of challenges.