CHOURRAUT Maialen

General
MOVE TO SAN SEBASTIAN
In 2020, after 15 years training at the canoe slalom stadium in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, she and her husband Xabier Etxaniz decided to relocate to San Sebastian, Spain. She originally intended to move there after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but after the Games were postponed she made the move early. "We had been thinking for a while about moving back [to San Sebastian] to reunite with family after so many years in La Seu. The idea was to move back after Tokyo, but with the coronavirus the Games were postponed, so we've decided to come back [to San Sebastian]. Being closer to family was the main attraction. My goal is still to compete in Tokyo [in 2021] and I will work every day to get there the best I can." She said she expected to train at the canoe slalom course in Pau, France. "[The Pau course] is one that attracts me a lot. I look forward to training a lot in Pau and to get out of the comfort zone that I had in La Seu d'Urgell. A bit of discomfort always helps." (mundodeportivo.com, 16 Jul 2020)

She was the first Spanish athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in canoe slalom when she claimed victory at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Four years earlier she had become the first Spanish canoe slalom athlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games when she claimed bronze at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Feb 2020)

In 2010 she became the first Spanish canoe slalom paddler to win a World Cup event when she triumphed at the 2010 event in Seu d'Urgell, Spain. (canoeicf.com, 28 Oct 2016; raulcosin.com, 18 Mar 2016; marca.com, 27 Jun 2010)