As a youngster Ian Wynne excelled as a swimmer and it was not until he was 19 that he made a decision to concentrate on canoeing. He moved between the K-1, K-2 and K-4 classes for most of his career and only made a full time switch to the K-1 class at the age of 30 in the Olympic year of 2004. Wynne made an immediate impression by medals in both the 500 and 1,000 metres at the 2004 European Championships and was chosen for the former event for the Athens Olympic as well as the K-2 1,000 with partner Paul Darby-Dowman. Although the pair were finalists in Athens it was in his solo event that Wynne captured an Olympic medal when finishing third fractionally ahead of a Norwegian rival. He hit the headlines again by setting a record for crossing the English Channel in a kayak in 2007. Wynne later accepted a position as a coach to the British canoe team specializing in the 1,000 metre distance. His brother Anthony was also a canoeing and competed at world championship level.
Great Britain