ICF Canoe Sprint World Champs: Kayak Teen Natalia Drobot Looks To Another Sport For Balance

She is a talented teenage paddler who, at age 18, has a shot at competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But another Olympic sport is helping her realize that goal.

Natalia Drobot, an avid athlete who has excelled at nearly every sport imaginable, has settled on kayaking as her preferred discipline.

The former gymnast, now 18, has already picked up a few different skills to help her reach her goals.

Less than a year before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, the rising star from California's Central Coast is taking part in her maiden senior world championships in Duisburg, Germany.

The K2 500m is an Olympic event, and Drobot and her NSW teammate Kailey Harlen will compete in it at the championships.

Australia's Olympic quota hopes rest on the results of the 2023 ICF world canoe sprint championships, which will be hosted in Germany.

For the women's 500m, K2's, and men's 1000m and 500m events, Australia is aiming for a top six finish. If the Australian men's and women's K4 500 boats finish in the top ten, they will advance to the next round.

Drobot's belief in her ability to medal at the World Cup has been bolstered by her recent bronze medal performance in her first senior World Cup in Hungary.

She remarked, "I now have a better grasp on how to carry out a race day because of this." Added assurance.

Even though it was only our sixth time paddling together, the K2 race provided us with a ton of self-assurance.

"The K2 is fantastic. It's wonderful to collaborate with another person.

"I really enjoy being a part of a team and working toward a common goal while also sharing in the joys and sorrows of that journey."

The top Australian surf lifesaving, who won many medals at this year's Aussies in Perth, has recently taken up long and short board surfing to give her shoulders a rest and enhance her balance.

Drobot, a multi-sport athlete who has tried his hand at Australian rules football (AFL), basketball, track and field, and cricket, compared the sport to dance.

Balance and relaxation are enhanced by this activity.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM AT CANOE SPRINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN: K1 200: Yale Steinepreis (WA). K1 500: Alyce Wood (QLD), K1 1000

Aly Bull (QLD), K2 200 Kailey Harlen (NSW) and Natalia Drobot (NSW), K2 500

Kailey Harlen (NSW) and Natalia Drobot (NSW), K4 500: Aly Bull (QLD), Ally Clarke (QLD), Yale Steinepreis (WA), Ella Beere (NSW). K1 5000: Claudia Bailey (QLD)

MEN: K1 200; Fletcher Armstrong (NSW), K1 500: Jean van der Westhuyzen (QLD), K1 1000 Tom Green (QLD), K2 500: Tom Green (QLD) and Jean van der Westhuyzen (QLD), K2 1000: Fletcher Armstrong (NSW) and Jakob Hammond (NSW). K4 500: Riley Fitzsimmons (NSW), Pierre van der Westhuyzen (QLD), Jackson Collins (QLD), Noah Havard (QLD) C1 500: Ben Manning (QLD), C1 1000: Ben Manning (QLD).

MIXED: K2 500: Aly Bull (QLD) and Jackson Collins (QLD)

PARA WOMEN: KL2 200 Susan Seipel (QLD), VL2 200: Susan Seipel (QLD), KL3 200

Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy (WA), VL3 200: Amy Ralph (WA).

PARA MEN: KL1 200l Ben Sainsbury (WA), VL1 200: Ben Sainsbury (WA), KL2 200: Curtis McGrath (QLD), KL3 200: Dylan Littlehales (NSW), VL3 200: Curtis McGrath (QLD)

VL3 200: Mark Daniels (WA).