Jaime's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Canoe – Sprint
Event: Kayak
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020
Highlights: Breaking the Australian record and placing second in the K4 500metres at the 2018 Szeged World Cup
Year Born: 1990
State Born: Western Australia
About Jaime
With a swimming and surf lifesaving background, Jaime Roberts found kayaking an easy transition.
In 2012, Roberts was crowned WA state ski champion in surf lifesaving and switched to flat-water paddling the following year. She was inspired to aim for the Olympics after listening to the radio call of the Australian men’s K4 1000 gold medal-winning race at London 2012. “I was driving a truck on a mine site up in the Pilbara… it was such an exciting few minutes that finished with the men crossing the line first. From that moment onwards, I decided to give kayaking a crack and see if I could make it to the Olympic Games,” Roberts said.
Roberts was noticed by the Western Australian Institute of Sport Head Coach at the 2013 WA State Kayaking Championships, and this put her on a path to success.
In 2014 she represented Australia at the elite level for the first time, competing at the World Cup and World Championships.
An Australian Surf Life Saving Championships finalist in ski events, Roberts represents the Mullaloo SLSC and has also represented Australia at the Lifesaving World Championships.
Between 2017-2019 she was named on the Australian Canoe Sprint Team racing in both the K2 and K4 events.
At the 2019 World Championships, Roberts joined forces with Olympians Aly Bull, Alyce Wood (nee Burnett) and Jo Brigden-Jones to secure Australia four quota positions for the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying the K4 with a seventh place in the final.
Roberts realised her Olympic dream after she won K2 500 silver (with Brigden-Jones) and finished sixth in the K1 500 at the 2020 Australian Canoe Sprint Championships
Roberts graduated University with a degree in mining engineering, has a graduate diploma in education and a certificate 3 & 4 in fitness teacher. When she isn’t paddling, Roberts is a casual high school teacher.
Jamie made her Olympic debut at the delayed Tokyo 2020 games, in the Women's K-4 500m and K-2 500m disciplines.
Paddling alongside her in the K-4 event were fellow Australians; Cat McArthur, Jo Brigden-Jones and Shannon Reynolds.
The squad would remain competitive in the first two stages of the event, with advancements to the quarter and then semi-finals, with a best time of 1:36.407. In their semi-final race, they would edge of France to keep their medal hopes alive and advance to the A Finals. There they would achieve a time of 1:39.797, and an overall 7th placing at the event.
Roberts would also link up again with Jo Brigden-Jones for the K-2 500m discipline. After a disappointing start to the event, finishing last in their heat, the Aussie duo would bounce back and earn themselves a spot in the semi-final of the event with a quarter-final time of 1:50.325.
They were, unfortunately, eliminated from medal contention in the following race, and placed in Final B for the event. The pair showed their determination, however, earning their fastest time of the stage in their final race with a time of 1:41.073 and an overall placing of 13th.
Read More
