John Doak

In the 1970s and 1980s John Doak was one of the fastest sprint canoeists in Australia. Doak entered his first race in 1974, when he competed in the Red Cross Murray River Canoe Marathon, before training in the K4 event the following year on the Patterson River in Victoria. With his brother Bob he won the junior K2 500m sprint at the 1976 Australian Championships. In 1977 John teamed up with Dennis Driscoll to compete in the same event at the Junior World Championships.

As a senior competitor Doak was named in the Australian team for four editions of the World Championships (1979, 1981–83), captaining the team in 1981, and as a reserve for the 1980 Moskva Olympics. In 1983 he finished in fifth place in the K4 1000m at the World Kayak Championships in Finland. Raymond Martin, Scott Wooden, John, and his brother Bob competed in the 4K 1000m at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where they finished in seventh place. John continued to compete in sprint canoeing until 1988 before switching to dragon boat racing after he failed to make the Olympic team for the 1988 Seoul Games. Following his retirement he worked as a plumber in Tasmania.