The centre is named after Tim Brabants, winner of Great Britain's first-ever Olympic gold medal in canoeing at Beijing 2008, who is set to visit the centre later this spring on his return from working as a doctor in South Africa.

Brabants was crowned K1 1,000 metres Olympic champion in the Chinese capital, eclipsing the bronze medal he won in the same event at Sydney 2000, before going on to claim third place in the K1 500m. 

Britain's most decorated canoe sprint athlete of all time retired following London 2012, after which he reacquainted himself with a career in medicine. 

The new facility has been funded with £679,000 ($1 million/€933,000) from Sport England, which has worked closely with elite sport experts from UK Sport and British Canoeing to make the world class, purpose-built training venue for Britain's top paddlers as they prepare for Rio 2016 and beyond.

The project has also benefited from an innovative partnership working between British Canoeing, Sport England and UK Sport, along with Eton College and outsourcing company Serco, owners and managers of the Dorney Lake site respectively, which will secure the centre's long-term future, while ensuring access arrangements for the sport.

"The whole focus of our training is on making those improvements which will give us even the smallest of performance gains come the Olympic Games," said McKeever, who won gold in the K1 200m event at London 2012.

"This new training centre here at Dorney makes a significant improvement to the facilities we use on a daily basis and will enhance the quality of training we can do as well as the overall experience."

London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Ed McKeever claims the new training centre at Dorney Lake makes a significant improvement to the facilities used by Great Britain's canoe sprint athletes on a daily basis ©Getty Images




London 2012 K2 200m bronze medallists Jonathan Schofield and Liam Heath joined McKeever at the official opening, which was performed by Helen Grant, British Minister for Sport and Tourism.

"It's a great honour to have opened the Tim Brabants Elite Training Centre that will be home for our top canoeists as they prepare for the Rio 2016 Games," said Grant. 

"It's vital that we leave no-stone unturned to give our athletes the best chances of success in Brazil and this world-class facility will help them be on top of their game when they reach the start line.

"With investment from Sport England, working alongside UK Sport, this facility will also leave a great legacy for canoeing in this country."

Prior to London 2012, British Canoeing's main on-water training venue for the Podium & Podium Potential squads was at Eton Dorney, which also served as the competition venue for the Games.

Although water conditions were ideal for training, it lacked a suitable, quality indoor facility, with an old portacabin serving as a changing and meeting area, which British Canoeing claims fell well below the standard required to support elite athletes on a world class programme.

"In line with our philosophy of continuous improvement, creating a high quality training environment at Dorney has been a priority for several years now," said John Anderson, performance director of British Canoeing.

"This excellent new facility retains close proximity to the English Institute of Sport support function at Bisham Abbey and still enables us to make use of the world class water provision at Dorney Lake.

"What we have created here will have an immediate positive impact on training and will assist us greatly to deliver our best performances in Rio.

"I would like to thank Sport England, UK Sport, Eton College and Serco for their commitment to helping us fund and deliver this new centre."

Helen Grant, British Minister for Sport and Tourism, performed the official opening of the new elite training centre ©Getty Images



The new facility includes male, female and disabled changing rooms and showers, as well as areas for warming up, resting and recovering, coach feedback and coach work, and rooms for medical treatment and meetings.

The 2015 season is set to be an important one for canoe sprint athletes with key competitions taking place including the British Senior Selection Trials in April, followed by a World Cup series and the inaugural European Games in Baku in June.

There will be further trials in July to select the team for the following month's International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Championships in Milan, where athletes have the opportunity to qualify places for Rio 2016.

Rod Carr, chairman of UK Sport, added: "To achieve world class performances, athletes and staff need access to world class facilities.

"This new training centre will help the sprint programme at British Canoeing achieve their potential at this critical time on the road to Rio.

"The fantastic facility will also be a jewel in the crown of British Canoeing and a venue that the next generation of canoe sprint athletes in the talent pathway will aspire to train at.

"The success of this project is testament to the strong working relationship between UK Sport, Sport England and British Canoeing."

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