View source for Stephen Giles

{{For|the Australian children's book author|Stephen M. Giles}}
{{short description|Canadian sprint canoeist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| image =
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| nationality = 
| sport = [[Canoeing]]
|disability = 
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| event =
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|7|4}}
| birth_place = [[St. Stephen, New Brunswick]], Canada
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| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's [[canoe racing|canoe sprint]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|[[Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Men's C-1 1000 metres|C-1 1000 m]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|1998 Szeged]]|C-1 1000 m}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1993 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|1993 Copenhagen]]|C-1 500 m}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|2002 Seville]]|C-1 1000 m}}
}}

'''Stephen Giles''' (born July 4, 1972) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[canoe racing|sprint canoeist]] who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. Competing in four [[Summer Olympics]], he won the bronze in the C-1 1000 m event at [[Sydney]] in [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000]].

== Life ==
Giles was born in [[St. Stephen, New Brunswick]].  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, including eleven [[ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|senior world championships]].  He was inducted into the [[Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame]] in 2012.

He was adept at both the 500 m event and 1000 m early in his career. His best races came in the C-1 1000 m event later in his career, earning the [[1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|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 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|2002 World Championships]] in [[Seville]], [[Spain]]. He also won a bronze medal at the [[1993 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships|1993 world championships]] in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]], in the men's C-1 500 m event, and at the 1989 Junior World Championships in [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]]. Notable contemporaries in the C-1 included [[Andreas Dittmer]], [[Martin Doktor]], and [[Maxim Opalev]].

Giles is part of a long line of successful [[Canadians|Canadian]] paddlers in the C-1 discipline including [[Frank Amyot]], [[John Wood (canoeist)|John Wood]], and [[Larry Cain]].  Since Giles' retirement in 2004, the tradition has been taken up by fellow Nova Scotian [[Richard Dalton (canoeist)|Richard Dalton]], [[Thomas Hall (canoeist)|Thomas Hall]], and [[Mark Oldershaw]].

Giles holds [[Bachelor of Science]] and Bachelor of Engineering degrees from [[Dalhousie University]], as well as an honorary [[Doctor of Laws]]. He completed his [[Master of Business Administration]] degree at [[Saint Mary's University (Halifax)|Saint Mary's University]] in 2011.  He currently works at [[EastLink (company)|EastLink]] in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]]. He was married in 1997. He and wife Angela (née Julien) have a daughter, Macy, and a son, Duncan.

In 2018 he was named one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news |last1=Tattrie |first1=Jon |author-link=Jon Tattrie |title=Sidney Crosby to headline 'greatest sports dinner' in Nova Scotia |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/sidney-crosby-to-headline-greatest-sports-dinner-in-nova-scotia-1.4641550 |accessdate=27 July 2018 |publisher=CBC Sports |date=30 April 2018}}</ref>

==2004 Olympics==
In the [[2004 Summer Olympics]], Giles competed in the C-1 1000 m event.  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.

==2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships==
For the [[2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships]] in neighboring [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|Dartmouth]], Giles served as Chair of Competition.

==References==
<references />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090201040044/http://canoe09.ca/committee.html Committee chairs of the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada featuring Giles.] - accessed January 4, 2009.
*{{sports links}}
*[http://www.nsshf.com/Inductees/Search/InducteeDetails/tabid/571/Default.aspx?m=802 Steve Giles, inductee in Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame]

{{Footer World Champions Canoe Sprint C-1 1000 m Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Stephen}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Canadian male canoeists]]
[[Category:Canadian engineers]]
[[Category:Canadian people of English descent]]
[[Category:Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Dalhousie University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Olympic canoeists for Canada]]
[[Category:People from St. Stephen, New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in canoeing]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada in canoeing]]
[[Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada in canoeing]]
[[Category:Canoeists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from New Brunswick]]