sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Luuka Jones (born 18 October 1988) is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.[1]

Luuka Jones

Jones at the 2019 Canoe Slalom World Championships
Personal information
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(1988-10-18) 18 October 1988 (age 33) Tauranga, New Zealand
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Canoe slalom
Rank	No. 8 (K1) No. 18 (C1)
Event(s)	K1, C1
Club	Canoe Slalom Bay of Plenty
Medal record Representing  New Zealand Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro K1 World Championships 2019 La Seu d'Urgell K1
Updated on 28 September 2016.

Early life

Jones was born in Tauranga in 1988.[2] Her mother Denise Jones was a fan of the British actress Audrey Hepburn and Luuka Jones was named after Hepburn's second son, Luca Dotti.[3] Her father is Rod Jones and she has three sisters.[4] She was brought up adjacent to the Wairoa River. She took up kayaking at age ten and received lessons from Waimarino Adventure Park nearby.[3] She went to Otumoetai Intermediate where in Year Seven, she set her goal to win an Olympic medal.[5][6]

Canoeing career

Jones started competing in 2003 at age 14.[3] In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, she moved to England to train with the British team.[3] She was the first female canoe slalom paddler to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games.[3]

She competed in the K1 event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she finished last in 21st position, thus being eliminated in the heats.[5] At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London she qualified for the semi-finals of the K1 event where she finished in 14th place. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro she won a silver medal in the K1 event.[7] Jones recorded her 4th Olympic participation at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where she started in both women's events. She finished 6th in the final of the K1 event and 13th in the C1 event after being eliminated in the semifinal.

Jones won a bronze medal in the K1 event at the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell.

World Cup individual podiums

Season	Date	Venue	Position	Event
2009	1 February 2009	Mangahao	2nd	K11
2019	22 June 2019	Bratislava	2nd	K1
2021	5 September 2021	La Seu d'Urgell	2nd	Extreme K1

¹ Oceania Championship counting for World Cup points

Personal life

Jones moved to England at age 17 to further her canoe career[4] and divides her time between Nottingham and New Zealand, spending the Northern Hemisphere based in Europe where most of the competitions are held.[8] She studies business extramurally at Massey University, majoring in communication.[3][9] She receives sponsorship from businesses based in Tauranga.[9] Apart from canoe, Jones enjoys surfing, mountain biking and making sushi.[3][6]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luuka Jones.

• Luuka Jones at the International Canoe Federation
• Luuka Jones at the International Olympic Committee
• Luuka Jones at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)

На других языках

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- [en] Luuka Jones

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[it] Luuka Jones

Luuka Jones (Tauranga, 18 ottobre 1988) è una canoista neozelandese, specializzata nello slalom.

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