Among the hundreds of participants in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal is a legend of the sport offering his words of wisdom.
No longer focusing on his own performance, Germany’s three-time Olympic champion Sebastian Brendel is now looking to assist others in improving all facets of their paddling.
It’s been less than one month since Brendel announced his retirement as an athlete but it’s clear that he is determined to give back to the sport that has given him so much over the years.
Brendel is among the coaches in the International Canoe Federation’s Talent Identification Programme (TIP) in Montemor-o-Velho where he is aiming to support the global development of Canoe Sprint.
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“For me, it’s a very nice position to be in,” said Brendel.
“I like teaching them with all my experience over the many years.
“I try to support them by giving them some little advice and I hope they can keep this in mind, take this information back home and work continuously on their sporting futures.
“That’s a very nice position for me, it’s my first time as a coach and an expert at a venue.”
Brendel is working at the ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships which has brought together almost 1,000 paddlers from 65 nations.
Among those athletes are from countries including Angola, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mozambique, Peru and Philippines – which are all part of the TIP camp and are benefiting from Brendel’s great knowledge.
Wearing his Team Germany cap and navy ICF expert coach t-shirt, Brendel is relishing his new role.
Over the past week, Brendel has been seen holding video sessions, giving technical advice on the water and encouraging his group of paddlers from the riverbank during competition.
“Life is really good,” said Brendel.
“One month ago, I retired as an athlete and now I’m happy to be here at a Junior and U23 World Championships.
“It’s been a long time since I was a junior so it’s nice to see the sport doing well as we have a lot of good young athletes.
“I try to support the TIP programme and the small nations.
“We have worked together since last Friday.
“It’s been a short time.
“We are doing some technical work and doing things step by step with them.
“They can be role models in their country, they can change lives with the sport so we have to continue go step by step.”
Brendel has been used to competing at the highest level and enjoying great success on the biggest stages in the sport.
During his glittering career, Brendel won men’s canoe single 1000m gold at London 2012 before defending his title at Rio 2016 where he became men’s canoe double 1000m champion with Jan Vandrey.
As well as his three Olympic gold medals, Brendel earned men’s C2 1000m bronze with Tim Hecker at Tokyo 2020 and accumulated numerous world and European titles.
Working with paddlers from developing nations in canoeing has been a new challenge for Brendel but he is excited to be part of their journey.
“It’s my first accreditation as a coach,” said Brendel.
“It’s a lot less pressure in this team.
“But when the athletes you work with are on the start line, the heartrate goes up, so I try to support them from the side on the bike by cheering for them.
“We have 10 different nations.
“We try to find one level that everyone can follow so everyone understands what we want to reach with them.
“It’s very easy as everyone is very motivated.
“I didn’t expect them to be all this motivated.
“They don’t miss any advice, keep the information, work hard and look on the video to see how they performed and look at their technique.
“With small adjustments, they can make big steps.”
Brendel will work as a Police Commissioner at the German Federal Police but will continue to coach at his boyhood club KC Potsdam and is open to further opportunities in the world of coaching.
“I am trying several things that are fun to me,” added the 37-year-old.
“I want to support the sport to help it grow globally.
“This is a really good way of doing that.
“We have a lot of nations from all continents in the world and I am happy to be a part of it.”
Full coverage of the ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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