Yale Steinepreis

West Australian sprint kayaker Yale Steinepreis has her grandmother to thank for her success as an international paddler.

Yale’s grandmother took up kayaking after surviving cancer and when she pushed a paddle into Yale’s hands, the teenager finally found her passion.

“I loved sport, but I got bored easily and I felt like I never had found my passion,” Yale said. “However, my grandma kayaked, and when the opportunity presented itself to go to a talent identification day, I thought why not give it a go and so I was 16 years old when I first started kayaking. My grandma was the reason I got into my sport and is also my inspiration to this day.

“Since then, kayaking has provided me with the life changing experiences and challenges that elite sport throws at you.”

In her first year competing at senior level for Australia, Yale won a silver medal in the K4 500m at the Canoe Sprint World Championships held in Dartmouth, Canada – competing with Ella Beere, Aly Bull and Alexandra Clarke.

At the 2023 world championships in Duisburg, Germany, the four finished fifth. But competing on her own, Yale won a quota place for the Paris Olympics. She claimed silver in the K1 200m final, behind New Zealand's nine-time world champion Lisa Carrington.

"It feels pretty awesome, I'm stoked to win silver," Yale said at the time. "I'd rather race Lisa and come second, than do a race without her."

As she prepares for Paris, Yale balances the demands of full-time training with a hefty study schedule, as she works to complete a Juris Doctor, with the aim of becoming a lawyer.

“I am motivated by my desire to learn and experience as much as I can in whatever I do,” Yale said. “I constantly want to be better which motivates me to move the goalpost that little bit further every day.”