Olsen has left British Canoeing to become women’s sprint kayak coach while Young has been appointed as performance support manager.

Paddle Australia said the two members, who will be based at Australia’s National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in the Gold Coast, will form an "essential part" of its strategy to strengthen its high-performance programme ahead of Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Olsen spent three years at British Canoeing, working as head coach of the Olympic sprint programme after a spell as lead coach of Canoe Racing New Zealand.

The former sprint and marathon canoeist, who represented Denmark at World Cups as well as European and World Championships, will be responsible for the women’s K4 team ahead of Tokyo 2020.

After state border closures kept the team apart for several months, Jo Brigden-Jones, who competed at London 2012, as well as Olympic debutants Jaime Roberts and Shannon Reynolds joined Cat McArthur at the Gold Coast at the end of last year to start their preparations.

"I'm very excited to have been given this amazing opportunity," said Olsen.

"Australia has such a strong Olympic canoeing history, and I feel the strategy direction for sprint canoeing Paddle Australia has set out will strengthen the development of both the pathway and the sharp end of the sport.

"I've really been looking forward to working with the team and it’s been a great first month.

"With the Tokyo Games only a few months away, we’ve had some exciting sessions with the K4 already and everyone has been very welcoming."

Olsen is also set to work closely with Olympic medallist Anna Wood, who is coaching the women’s K2 of Alyce Wood and Alyssa Bull towards Tokyo 2020.

Young also joined the team last month after transferring back to Australia from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he worked as the head of sport science in the special operations command over the past five years.

The role saw him lead a multidisciplinary team of 20 staff across medicine, strength and conditioning and sport science.

Young has also worked at the Queensland Academy of Sport between 2007 and 2013 where he became head of strength and conditioning before holding that position at the Canadian Sports Institute.

"It's great to be back in Queensland and particularly back in high performance sport," said Young.

"I've been out on the water with the athletes and coaches and staff have been very welcoming with a lot of great ideas on how we can improve performance.

"I’m thrilled for the opportunity to lead Paddle Australia’s performance support team, particularly with the Olympics fast approaching.  

"I believe this new role will help further Paddle Australia’s status as a world-leading high performance programme."

Young’s role is one of the technical leadership positions identified within the high-performance strategic plan, which was launched last year.  

He will work across the sprint, paracanoe and slalom programmes and is responsible for leading and managing Paddle Australia’s performance support team as well as making those connections with the State of Territory Institutes and Academies of Sport.