Paul MacDonald

Christopher Paul MacDonald (born January 8, 1960 in New Zealand ) is a former New Zealand canoeist . He won five medals at the Olympic Games, three of which were gold, and is one of New Zealand's most successful international athletes.

Career

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , the canoeists from the Eastern Bloc were missing because of the Olympic boycott . The New Zealand canoeists benefited from this. Until 1984, no New Zealander had won an Olympic medal, in Los Angeles they won four out of five gold medals in a kayak. Paul MacDonald and Ian Ferguson won the 500 meter distance in a two-person kayak. Both canoeists then sat in the foursome, where they won gold together with Grant Bramwell and Alan Thompson .

By winning the world championship title in two-person kayaks over 500 meters in 1985, Ferguson and MacDonald proved that they could survive even when all countries were at the start. At the 1987 World Championships, MacDonald and Ferguson won the 1000 meter and silver 500 meter. MacDonald was also world champion over 500 meters in a single kayak.

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul , Ferguson and MacDonald won gold over 500 meters and silver over 1000 meters. MacDonald was also in the single kayak final over 500 meters and won bronze there. In 1992 MacDonald competed on both individual courses and with the now 40-year-old Ferguson on both courses, but was only able to reach the final in the two-man over 1000 meters and take 8th place.

After retiring from competitive sports, the trained sports teacher began a career as a producer of sports broadcasts for television.

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
• Volker Kluge: Summer Olympic Games. Chronicle IV. Seoul 1988 - Atlanta 1996. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-328-00830-6 .

Web links

• Short bio (english)