Beth Morgan

NRS Europe team paddler Beth Morgan (UK) is no rookie when It comes to extreme white water racing. Having coached at World Class Kayak Academy the current European champion has paddled and competed all over the world, winning multiple titles at events. Her continued success and ability to make a living whilst kayaking the world makes her an inspiration to not only females, but all paddlers globally. We caught up with Beth recently to find out the secret to what sparks her drive.

"I wouldn't say I've ever trained for races. I started racing just to be a part of kayaking events that are so much fun and enjoyed a different challenge within kayaking. Then as I became a better kayaker I got better at racing, naturally because I had better lines. I often found I could hold my own in competitions by having good smooth lines and keeping up a decent pace.

Then 2 years ago in Chile I raced at Futa XL. The competition started with the sprint and I had smooth lines down the whole course and felt pretty good after my race..... I came last. It turns out that the slow is smooth, smooth is fast philosophy doesn't always work! I raced against Franzi, Ali and a couple of other people. Franzi and Ali are really good, really fast and racing against both of them in the boater x made me push myself more than I ever have. Although I was in 2nd coming through Mundaka, Franzi destroyed me on the flat section at the end. I was blown away by how fast and smooth she could paddle. She's got a slalom background and that inspired me to improve my forward stroke and become more efficient. So I started working on that. I still wouldn't say I've trained for races as such, but I worked on my general technique and pushing myself to go faster.

Winning the European champs in Norway was a high point for me and definitely fired me up. It made me want to keep improving. To me winning isn't the drive; it is pushing myself to get better and trying to become the best kayaker I can be. Racing is just one of the ways that helps me towards this goal, plus it is a lot of fun and it all starts by enjoying local events!

Right now with all that is going on, I am unable to kayak so instead I am trying to stay fit and healthy with some land-based workouts. Plus, it helps me keep some semblance of a routine in my life."

Thank you for speaking to us here at Escape Watersports, we hope you can stick to your winning ways in the future and continue to inspire other like-minded individuals to paddlesports!

Follow Beth's journey on Instagram: @boaterbeth