Paddle UK is deeply saddened to have learnt of the passing of Jurg Gotz, former head coach of the Great Britain canoe slalom team.
Jurg is widely credited as a major influence in canoe slalom internationally and supported elite athletes, coaches and practitioners on their journey to win medals at Olympic Games and other major events between 1990 and 2012.
During his tenure at GB Canoeing, Jurg was a technical and head coach for the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, in which TeamGB won five medals.
As well as being a well-respected member of the international coaching community, Jurg was also a former canoe slalom athlete. Representing Switzerland, Jurg competed for a decade during the 1970s and 1980s, winning a silver medal in the K1 team event at the 1981 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Bala.
After retiring from competing, Jurg spent 14 years with Swiss Canoe as head coach and performance director, coaching several athletes across three Olympic Games.
Jurg joined GB Canoeing in 2001, working as a technical coach for the canoe slalom programme based at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham.
He also oversaw the slalom programme move from Nottingham to Lee Valley White Water Centre in 2011.
Jurg coached Campbell Walsh to an Olympic silver medal in the men’s K1 at Athens 2004 and was awarded the Mussabini Medal at the UK Coaching Awards, in recognition of his achievement.
Jurg became head coach of the British team in 2005 at the beginning of the Beijing 2008 cycle, as well as the London 2012 team, where TeamGB won gold and silver at Lee Valley.
He was highly respected by all team members and his energy, positivity and skills at mentoring athletes at all levels of the pathway was recognised.
Jurg left the organisation in 2013 and remained in the UK to focus on performance coach development, working with several British sports including swimming, triathlon, rowing, alongside continued support for the British Canoeing slalom programme.
Nathalie Siegrist, slalom lead academy coach, worked with Jurg as a paddler in Switzerland, as well as being mentored in the UK. She said:
“Jurg was so influential in my life as a paddler and life as a coach and was a true inspiration. He knew how to highlight the potential of everyone.
“At the same time, he was capable of verbalising really well what you needed to hear, even the tough news.
“He gave me my very first job and asked me to do the split times at the Olympic Games in Barcelona 1992, to help him with the team. That was such an inspiration.
“He’s also been my mentor up until now. I chose him as my mentor because I really trusted that he would tell me the things that I needed to get in order to grow.
“He’s shaped the person that I am, as much as the coach that I am.”
Mark Ratcliffe, a long time colleague and friend to Jurg, said:
“Jurg was a big part of my early years as a coach and leader.
“His enthusiasm, warmth and personality were infectious and I learned so much from working with him.
“He was just a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed.”
Paddle UK sends our condolences to Jurg’s family, friends, associates and the canoe slalom community.