Canoe Slalom paddler Chris Bowers has called time on his competitive slalom career after ten years of racing on the international stage.
Bowers competed internationally from 2014, making his debut as a junior at the ICF Junior World Championships in Penrith, Australia, where he secured a team bronze medal to kick-start his career.
Starting out at Stafford & Stone Canoe Club as an 11-year-old, Bowers worked through the age categories, before establishing himself as a regular member of the international senior team in the men’s kayak, making the squad for seven consecutive years from 2017.
Bowers claimed his maiden world title in the men’s kayak team event at the 2018 World Championships in Rio alongside teammates Joe Clarke MBE and Bradley Forbes-Cryans.
The trio followed that up with a team silver at the World Championships in Augsburg four years later.
Known on the international circuit for his power and speed, Bowers won his first individual gold medal in 2022 as he battled to a kayak cross World Cup title in Krakow ahead of the discipline’s Games debut in Paris 2024.
Doubling up on the U23 team during the 2021 season, he made the podium at both international competitions, winning men’s kayak bronze at the World and European Championships.
Reflecting on his time in slalom, Bowers said on Instagram:
“Well, that’s the end of an era. After paddling for the past ten-plus years, it’s most of all I have known. I’ve struggled over the past couple of years to find the joy, it’s led me down a journey of exploring what else could be for me.
“After a long time thinking about what could be and what else could spark that joy that 12-year-old Chris had. During the summer I did a bit of work and found that for me Gutted to be leaving an amazing community of paddlers and friends but so excited for what’s to come.”