Basque kayaker wins a gold medal in 2016 Rio Olympics

Maialen Chourraut wins gold.

Maialen Chourraut wins gold.

Basque kayaker Maialen Chourraut Yurramendi won the gold in women’s canoe slalom at the Rio Olympics Aug. 11. Chourraut completed the race with a time of 98.65. She was followed by Luuka Jones of New Zealand with 101.82.

Chourraut is 33 and is from Lasarte-Oria, near Donostia, in Gipuzkoa. She has been canoeing since she was 12, according to BAT Basque Team.

Maialen Chourraut came in first in the women’s canoe slalom.

Chourraut won a bronze medal in the London Olympics in 2012. She also participated in the 2008 Olympics. She took time off after the last Olympics to have a baby, according to Olympics news.

“I came to the Olympics to reach the final. We had first the heats and then the semi-final and I really felt nothing, I just focused and I carried on. It’s blurred in my mind so I will really need to see the video tape as I don’t remember,” she said, according to the Olympics website.

Rio is Chourraut's third Olympics.
Rio is Chourraut’s third Olympics.

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