Joseph Clarke

Joseph Clarke (born 3 November 1992) is a British slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2009, specializing in the K1 (kayak) and KX1 (extreme kayak/kayak cross) events.

He is the 2016 Olympic champion in the K1 event, and the silver medalist in kayak cross from the 2024 Summer Olympics. He is also the 2023 World Champion in K1, a quadruple World Champion in the kayak cross discipline, and has won multiple medals at World and European Championships. He is the most successful kayak cross competitor at global level in the history of the event.

Early life Clarke was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He then applied to join the Stafford and Stone Canoe Club, but was rejected for being too young. His application was successful and he began training with the club, competing in his first race in 2004 at the age of 11. Clarke supports local team Stoke City F.C.

Clarke attended Alleyne's Academy high school, after going to his middle school Walton Priory Middle School.

Career Clarke made his debut for the British junior team in 2009,

He won a European Championship under-23 silver medal in the individual K1 in 2013, and World Championship silver medals in the under-23 team event in 2013 and 2014.

He also won six medals (1 gold, 2 silvers and 3 bronzes) at the European Championships, including a bronze medal in the K1 event at the 2023 European Games in Kraków.

Clarke won the overall World Cup title in Kayak cross in 2023 and 2024.

Clarke was selected for the 2016 Summer Olympics after winning the individual K1 at the British selection trials in October 2015. At the Olympics he qualified for the final of the K1 event with the third fastest time in the semi-final. He won gold in the final with a time of 88.53 seconds, the first time a British competitor had won gold in this event. He also competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he won a silver medal in kayak cross and finished 5th in the K1 event.

Honours and other work Clarke was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to canoeing.

In 2018, Clarke guest starred in the third episode of the fourth series of the CBBC children cooking show Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch.

World Cup individual podiums Total K1 3 5 2 10 Kayak cross 3 2 3 8 Kayak cross individual 1 1 0 2 Total 7 8 5 20

SeasonDateVenuePositionEvent 2014 16 August 2014 Augsburg 2nd K1 2018 24 June 2018 Liptovský Mikuláš 3rd K1 1 July 2018 Kraków 1st K1 2019 16 June 2019 Lee Valley 1st K1 2021 11 September 2021 Pau 3rd K1 2022 12 June 2022 Prague 2nd Kayak cross 18 June 2022 Kraków 2nd K1 19 June 2022 Kraków 3rd Kayak cross 2023 2 June 2023 Augsburg 2nd K1 4 June 2023 Augsburg 3rd Kayak cross 18 June 2023 Tacen 1st Kayak cross 2 September 2023 La Seu d'Urgell 2nd K1 3 September 2023 La Seu d'Urgell 2nd Kayak cross 2024 14 June 2024 Kraków 1st K1 22 September 2024 La Seu d'Urgell 1st Kayak cross 2025 31 August 2025 Tacen 1st Kayak cross individual 2026 31 May 2026 Tacen 3rd Kayak cross 5 June 2026 Prague 2nd K1 7 June 2026 Prague 2nd Kayak cross individual 14 June 2026 Augsburg 1st Kayak cross

Results 2009

2012

2014

2015

2016