About me..
Hi there, welcome to my website. My name is Ottilie Robinson-Shaw, most people call me Ottie, I'm 23 and a 6 x World Champion Freestyle Kayaker.
Right now I'm on a very determined mission to push the boundaries of our sport, break world records and showcase that women can be just as good as the top men.
My journey... It all started when I was just a kid, I learnt to kayak in my local leisure centre swimming pool. At the time I had no idea I had what it took to be the world's best but I loved kayaking and since the age of 10 I've spent everyday dreaming about my next big trick, or adventure.
When I was 14 I was selected to represent TEAM GB, I headed to Germany for the European Championships and despite being the youngest competitor at the event I walked away with a bronze medal.
That experience made me hungry for more and the following year I won my first ever Junior World Championship. I then went on to win the Junior World Championships again in 2019 in addition to a bronze medal in the senior Squirt boat class. This made me the first junior in our sport to win the World Championships twice.
Later that year at the age of 17 I competed in GB Team selections. Here I landed a personal high score while still a junior and scored 1225 ICF points. At just 17 and still technically a junior I became the first woman to break 1000 points with ICF scoring and 3 Grade A ICF judges. Although I was stoked to break the record, my ultimate goal was to do it at a World Championships. So that's exactly what I did.
Covid-19 hit right at the start of my senior career, which meant all the major events were put on hold. In September 2021 I finally got to compete at my first event as a senior, the European Championships. Here I was proud to take the win and become senior European Champion.
2022 - The year I'd been dreaming about, the Freestyle Kayaking World Championships were going to be held at home in Nottingham. On the lead up to this event I worked harder than ever before. I had one clear goal, I wanted to win the World Championships in all three women's disciplines and break the record score in all three women's disciplines. I DID JUST THAT!
In 2022 I set a new high score in kayak freestyle, canoe freestyle and the squirt boat event and asserted my dominance by winning all 10 rounds of competition throughout the week. I scored 1216 in kayak, 690 in canoe and 1920 in Squirt Boat. My score in the final of the squirt boat category was high enough to have won the men's category!!
The following year, allowed for a change of style and excitement. We don't often have a world championships two years in a row but due to covid the timeframes were squeezed together. The 2023 world championships were to be held on a wave (rather than a hole feature) . I spent the year pushing my big wave paddling, landed hull to hull airscrews on some of the biggest waves I've ever seen and learnt a tonne of new tricks and skills. I felt strong, confident and ready to fight for my titles. I managed to win the canoe category and took silver in squirt boating. My main focus is always kayak (k1) and after winning every round in the kayak category I wanted nothing more than to demonstrate my progression. In what ended up being a terrible day, I managed to dislocate my shoulder in the semi final round, I made it to finals still in top spot but struggled throughout and came home with a silver medal. I was devastated but one month later I was sat having shoulder surgery and the sudden realisation that I might never kayak again was an important reminder of why I do this sport. I don't do it to win, I do it because I love it.
In December 2023, I sat down for shoulder surgery. It was just over five months until the World Cups, and in my head, I had completely written off the idea of being fit enough by May. I knew that surgery was only the beginning of my recovery journey and that I would have to put in a lot of work to get back to where I was before. But lucky for me, I think one of the things I’m best at in life is gritting my teeth and putting the work in when it’s needed, so that’s exactly what I did. After surgery, I spent the next few months working incredibly hard with a fantastic physio (Josh Congdon from Reflex-19).
By May, I was back on the water and had to make the difficult decision as to whether or not I should compete at the World Cups. I decided to pay my entry fees, as I was going to the event either way, and I would just make the decision a couple of days before the event. Of course, I decided I was going to compete, and I decided that I would actually compete in all three women’s disciplines. My shoulder was doing great at the competition, and I was feeling strong, albeit a bit tired and more fatigued than normal, as I wasn’t back to my usual high levels of fitness yet. But I was still really struggling with my confidence when it came to throwing certain tricks.
I was really, really proud to finish the World Cups with four golds and two silvers, and be crowned World Cup champion in all three women’s disciplines. This has never been done by anyone before. I think my return to competition is a nice reminder that sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, and ultimately, it’s your attitude that gets you where you want to be.
By August, it was time for the European Championships, which were held in Graz, Austria. I came to this event with a clear goal: I wanted to be the first person in our sport to ever win the European Championships twice at the same event, and I wanted to break the record score in both disciplines—canoe and kayak. And I did just that. I managed to score 1566 ICF points in kayak and 1283 ICF points in canoe, both of which are the highest scores ever performed by women in ICF scoring. Now, the European Championships is technically an ECA event, but they follow the same rules as an ICF event. With this in mind, I feel proud to now be the first woman to have scored over a thousand points in both K1 (kayak) and C1 (canoe). By this event, I was obviously feeling a lot fitter, healthier, and more confident in my shoulder, which allowed me to paddle at my absolute best. I feel incredibly proud that my score in canoe was only 53 points off the men’s world record score.
Now my focus is on the 2025 Freestyle Kayaking World Championships, where I want to continue breaking barriers and showcasing what women in our sport can do. If you like my story and would like to support me in any shape or form, please let me know—I’d love to hear from you.
Right now I'm on a very determined mission to push the boundaries of our sport, break world records and showcase that women can be just as good as the top men.
My journey... It all started when I was just a kid, I learnt to kayak in my local leisure centre swimming pool. At the time I had no idea I had what it took to be the world's best but I loved kayaking and since the age of 10 I've spent everyday dreaming about my next big trick, or adventure.
When I was 14 I was selected to represent TEAM GB, I headed to Germany for the European Championships and despite being the youngest competitor at the event I walked away with a bronze medal.
That experience made me hungry for more and the following year I won my first ever Junior World Championship. I then went on to win the Junior World Championships again in 2019 in addition to a bronze medal in the senior Squirt boat class. This made me the first junior in our sport to win the World Championships twice.
Later that year at the age of 17 I competed in GB Team selections. Here I landed a personal high score while still a junior and scored 1225 ICF points. At just 17 and still technically a junior I became the first woman to break 1000 points with ICF scoring and 3 Grade A ICF judges. Although I was stoked to break the record, my ultimate goal was to do it at a World Championships. So that's exactly what I did.
Covid-19 hit right at the start of my senior career, which meant all the major events were put on hold. In September 2021 I finally got to compete at my first event as a senior, the European Championships. Here I was proud to take the win and become senior European Champion.
2022 - The year I'd been dreaming about, the Freestyle Kayaking World Championships were going to be held at home in Nottingham. On the lead up to this event I worked harder than ever before. I had one clear goal, I wanted to win the World Championships in all three women's disciplines and break the record score in all three women's disciplines. I DID JUST THAT!
In 2022 I set a new high score in kayak freestyle, canoe freestyle and the squirt boat event and asserted my dominance by winning all 10 rounds of competition throughout the week. I scored 1216 in kayak, 690 in canoe and 1920 in Squirt Boat. My score in the final of the squirt boat category was high enough to have won the men's category!!
The following year, allowed for a change of style and excitement. We don't often have a world championships two years in a row but due to covid the timeframes were squeezed together. The 2023 world championships were to be held on a wave (rather than a hole feature) . I spent the year pushing my big wave paddling, landed hull to hull airscrews on some of the biggest waves I've ever seen and learnt a tonne of new tricks and skills. I felt strong, confident and ready to fight for my titles. I managed to win the canoe category and took silver in squirt boating. My main focus is always kayak (k1) and after winning every round in the kayak category I wanted nothing more than to demonstrate my progression. In what ended up being a terrible day, I managed to dislocate my shoulder in the semi final round, I made it to finals still in top spot but struggled throughout and came home with a silver medal. I was devastated but one month later I was sat having shoulder surgery and the sudden realisation that I might never kayak again was an important reminder of why I do this sport. I don't do it to win, I do it because I love it.
In December 2023, I sat down for shoulder surgery. It was just over five months until the World Cups, and in my head, I had completely written off the idea of being fit enough by May. I knew that surgery was only the beginning of my recovery journey and that I would have to put in a lot of work to get back to where I was before. But lucky for me, I think one of the things I’m best at in life is gritting my teeth and putting the work in when it’s needed, so that’s exactly what I did. After surgery, I spent the next few months working incredibly hard with a fantastic physio (Josh Congdon from Reflex-19).
By May, I was back on the water and had to make the difficult decision as to whether or not I should compete at the World Cups. I decided to pay my entry fees, as I was going to the event either way, and I would just make the decision a couple of days before the event. Of course, I decided I was going to compete, and I decided that I would actually compete in all three women’s disciplines. My shoulder was doing great at the competition, and I was feeling strong, albeit a bit tired and more fatigued than normal, as I wasn’t back to my usual high levels of fitness yet. But I was still really struggling with my confidence when it came to throwing certain tricks.
I was really, really proud to finish the World Cups with four golds and two silvers, and be crowned World Cup champion in all three women’s disciplines. This has never been done by anyone before. I think my return to competition is a nice reminder that sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, and ultimately, it’s your attitude that gets you where you want to be.
By August, it was time for the European Championships, which were held in Graz, Austria. I came to this event with a clear goal: I wanted to be the first person in our sport to ever win the European Championships twice at the same event, and I wanted to break the record score in both disciplines—canoe and kayak. And I did just that. I managed to score 1566 ICF points in kayak and 1283 ICF points in canoe, both of which are the highest scores ever performed by women in ICF scoring. Now, the European Championships is technically an ECA event, but they follow the same rules as an ICF event. With this in mind, I feel proud to now be the first woman to have scored over a thousand points in both K1 (kayak) and C1 (canoe). By this event, I was obviously feeling a lot fitter, healthier, and more confident in my shoulder, which allowed me to paddle at my absolute best. I feel incredibly proud that my score in canoe was only 53 points off the men’s world record score.
Now my focus is on the 2025 Freestyle Kayaking World Championships, where I want to continue breaking barriers and showcasing what women in our sport can do. If you like my story and would like to support me in any shape or form, please let me know—I’d love to hear from you.
