Noah Havard is a well-known Australian paddler who is qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Havard started his Canoeing career when he was a teenager, his doctor said he needed surgery on his shoulder because it kept dislocating by playing Rugby. So Noah chose to stop playing rugby and move his sport to Canoeing.
Noah Havard is Qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024
Noah Havard has appeared as a top contender for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He was recently selected for the Australian National Canoe Sprint team for the 2023 season.
For the men’s K4 500m event at the Paris Olympics, Havard will be joined by other top Australian paddlers like Riley, Pierre, and Jackson. They will all compete together in this kayak racing discipline.
Noah Havard’s Early Years with his family and his Education
Noah Havard was born in the year 2001. He grew up in the Bondi area, which is a suburb near the beach in Sydney. His mother’s name is Natasha Havard.
Noah has one brother who also does surf ski paddling.
Noah went to Waverley College for his education. After finishing school, he completed a university degree called a Bachelor of Project Management in 2023. His major subject was Construction.
Noah Havard’s Canoeing Career So Far
When Noah Havard was a teenager, he played rugby league. He thought his career as an athlete was over when a doctor said he needed surgery on his shoulder because it kept dislocating. The choice was either surgery or stop playing rugby.
Noah was part of the Sydney Roosters youth program and was on his way to play in the NRL professional league. But the shoulder injury made him leave the sport he grew up playing.
Around that time, Noah’s brother was doing surf ski paddling with friends. Noah decided to try it out too. He quickly fell in love with the sport of surf lifesaving. Then, when an Olympic champion named Ken Wallace noticed Noah’s talent, it opened his eyes to sprint kayaking.
In 2018, Noah used to paddle for the North Bondi Surf Academy club. In 2022, he moved from Bondi to the Gold Coast region to join the Queensland Academy of Sport program.
That same year, Noah represented Australia at the World Championships, World Cups, and Junior/U23 World Championships for sprint canoeing. He won a bronze medal in the Under-23 Men’s K4 500m event.
The next year in 2023, Noah teamed up with paddlers van der Westhuyzen, Collins, and Riley Fitzsimmons. They won silver in the K4 500m race at the World Cup event in Poznan, Poland.
At the 2023 Poznan World Cup, Noah’s K4 500m crew with van der Westhuyzen, Collins, and Fitzsimmons took the silver medal. Soon after, they finished fourth in that event at the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.
Noah has established himself as a top paddler. He was recently named to Australia’s national sprint canoeing team for 2023, making him a contender for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
