Ed McKeever

Sport: Canoeing

Nation: Great Britain

DOB: August 27, 1983

Hometown: Bradford on Avon

Career Highlights: British spring kayaker Ed McKeever has a host of honours to his name in the new 200 metre sprint event. A 500 metre sprinter until 2009, the event was dropped from the Olympic roster, prompting McKeever to switch to the new K-1 200m sprint - an event at which he has since excelled. A gold medal at the 2010 World Championships in Poland (and a silver in the relay) cemented McKeever’s status as one of the favourites for the Olympic title, and further wins at the European Championships and World Cup in 2010 underlined his class. The 28-year-old followed up with a silver at the 2011 World Championship and a brace of gold medals at the World Cup, and he will have home advantage following moving to Buckinghamshire to train on the lake at Dorney - the Olympic venue. Reigning World and European champion Piotr Siemionowski will be McKeever’s main threat, while Hungary’s Peter Molnar and Germany’s Ronald Rauhe are also tipped to be contenders for the medal places.

Olympic History: None