Robert Oliver

Rob Oliver

Athlete Information

  • Region

    Birmingham

  • Date of Birth

    14/01/1988

  • Classification

    KL1

Athlete main content

Bio

Oliver was one of the six athletes to compete in Para canoe’s Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, where he finished fifth in the men’s KL3.

At Tokyo 2020 he reached the podium, claiming bronze in the Men’s Kayak Single 200m (KL3).

In 2019 Rob won bronze and silver medals just five days apart in Poznan at the European Championships and World Cup respectively, before helping to secure a men’s KL3 quota place for Tokyo 2020 with a fifth-placed finish at the World Championships.

Rob is a talented sportsman; after a spell as a weightlifter he played football at a variety of levels from 13-19. However in 2008 he broke his leg during a match and 17 operations and nine months later he had his leg amputated due to medical negligence. He was only 20 years old and up until that point had always been very active, he felt like this area of his life had come to an end, until he found kayaking in 2011. Once he realised he could still take part in competitive sport as an amputee he decided to dedicate his life to becoming the very best.

Gearing up to Tokyo, Rob won bronze at the 2021 World Cup in Szeged.

Major Results

2020 Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan

  • KL3 200m: bronze

2016 Paralympics Games, Rio, Brazil

  • KL3 200m: 5th

2019 European Championships, Poznan, Poland

  • KL3 200m: Bronze

2017 European Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

  • KL3 200m: Silver

2015 World Championships, Milan, Italy

  • KL3 200m: Silver

2015 European Championships, Racice, Czech Republic

  • KL3 200m: Gold

2013 European Championships, Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal

  • K1 LTA 200m: Bronze

Share this page