Stephen Giles
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Stephen Giles (born July 4, 1972 in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick) is a Canadian canoer. He began canoeing at age eight at the Orenda Racing Canoe Club in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Canadian national team for fifteen years, competing in four Summer Olympics and eleven senior world championships.
He was adept at both the 500m event and 1000m early in his career. His best races came in the C1 1000m event later in his career, earning the world championship gold medal in 1998 at Szeged, Hungary. In the same event, he won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships in Seville, Spain. He also won a bronze medal at the 1993 world championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the men's C1 500m event, and at the 1989 Junior World Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Notable contemporaries in the C1 included Andreas Dittmer, Martin Doktor, and Maxim Opalev.
Giles is part of a long line of successful Canadian paddlers in the C1 discipline including Frank Amyot, John Wood, and Larry Cain. Since Giles' retirement in 2004, the tradition has been taken up by fellow Nova Scotian Richard Dalton.
Giles holds Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from Dalhousie University, as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws. He currently works at EastLink in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was married in 1997. He and wife Angela (née Julien) have a daughter, Macy, and a son, Duncan.
[edit] 2004 Olympics
In the 2004 Summer Olympics, Giles competed in the 1000m individual canoe. He finished second in his initial heat, advancing to the semifinal with a time of 3:52.451. Giles won his semifinal with a time of 3:51.720, qualifying for the final. There, he placed fifth at 3:51.457.
