Lane De Meulenaere
How did I get into kayaking? When I was 10 my dad saw a documentary of Sickline on tv, he was convinced this was what he wanted to do, so I followed him. Soon after that I had what they call the kayak fever and so I carried on. My first competition was in 2008 and I was so amazed about how much fun it was and how a fun ambience there was that I became hooked to kayaking and competing. My biggest achievement so far? My first big achievement in kayaking was definitely my trip to Canada as a 13 year old kid going on his own to kayaking was such an experience, I followed the Keener program, this is a professional youth kayaker development program hosted by the Ottawa Kayak School. It's definitely one of the best programs that prepares a kayaker for what's coming up. You get competition training, safety, technical training, condition training, so basically everything you need as a pro kayaker! My second big achievement is my 4th place in the European championships of 2012. After having to screw down training for over a month to prepare my examinations. I went to the Europeans with not so much confidence, cause I knew I wasn't prepared for what was coming up. But when I started paddling everything came back and went more smoothly with every session on the water. I just made half finals in 10th place, paddled a good half final and became 5th to finals so then it was enjoying the ambience and event and do whatever I can to maybe move up a little. After having a lucky shot on my last move I moved up to 4th place. Amazing! Sponsored by: Kajak Centrum Arjan Bloem AXE Jackson Kayak Sweet Protection
