Cédric Joly

Slalom canoeist Cédric Joly has been competing at a global level since 2012. Hailing from France and training at the Pôle France de Cesson, Joly has been described as the “French hope of slalom canoeing.” Only recently making a name for himself in the international canoeing community, Jolu won a gold medal in the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, taking the first prize in the men’s C1 event in La Seu d’Urgell. The same year, Joly won both a gold and a silver medal in the C1 team category at the ICF European Championships, proving himself to be an up-and-coming talent with many successes undoubtedly ahead of him. With these wins under his belt, he has a strong chance of being chosen to take part in the next Olympic Games alongside reigning French champion Denis Gargaud-Chanut.

Joly began canoeing in 2004, in Montfort, Bretagne, after watching the Olympic Games and finding inspiration in the words of top athlete and neighbour Vivien Colober. His senior international debut came at the 2018 ICF European Championships, after he won the U23 European Championships earlier that year, a feat which he managed after making it through a difficult semi-final and now describes as his most “memorable sporting achievement”. After putting in such stunning performances in the two years since he stepped in to the international arena, it seems likely that there will be many more memorable sporting achievements to come for this gifted canoeist.