Tim Brabants

Tim Brabants
MBE

Tim Brabants in 2011
Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	(1977-01-23) 23 January 1977 (age 40) Chertsey
Occupation	Doctor
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	85 kg (187 lb)
Website	Official Website
Medal record Representing  Great Britain Men's canoe sprint Olympic Games 2008 Beijing K-1 1000 m 2000 Sydney K-1 1000 m 2008 Beijing K-1 500 m World Championships 2007 Duisburg K-1 1000 m 2006 Szeged K-1 1000 m 2007 Duisburg K-1 500 m 2010 Poznań K-1 1000 m 1998 Cape Town K-2 marathon

Jules Timothy Brabants MBE (born 23 January 1977) is a British sprint kayaker who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won three medals with one gold (2008: K-1 1000 m) and two bronzes (2000: K-1 1000 m, 2008: K-1 500 m).

Tim Brabants was born in Chertsey. He first began his canoeing career at Elmbridge Canoe Club in Elmbridge.

Brabants was educated at the Salesian School, a Voluntary Aided co-educational Roman Catholic comprehensive school in Chertsey, Surrey, followed by the University of Nottingham.

Brabants won the K-1 1000 m European championship at Szeged, Hungary in 2002, the first time a British paddler had won the blue riband event.

The 2004 Olympics however were a disappointment. Brabants had won a European silver medal at Poznań earlier in the season and was the fastest qualifier for the Olympic K-1 1000 m final with the world's fastest time of 3:24.412. However, in the final itself he finished in fifth place.

He took a year off from competitive kayaking in 2005 to complete his medical studies at the University of Nottingham followed by a spell as a doctor in Jersey. However, he returned to action in 2006, winning the gold medal in Račice in the K-1 1000 m event at the European Championships and the silver medal in the same event at the World Championships in Szeged in August 2006, finishing just 0.06 seconds behind Sweden's Markus Oscarsson.