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One of the rising stars of the national men’s squad, Max will hope to build on a breakthrough 2019 campaign in the future.
Raised in Whanganui, Max was a keen mountain biker and skier until he was first introduced to kayaking through the Whanganui Multisport Club at the age of 15.
Initially the worst guy at the club “I kept falling out all the time, but I didn’t mind I was having fun” persistent Max gradually improved and over time started to make his mark on the national scene.
In 2013 he made his international debut at the Sydney Youth Olympic Festival before competing at the World Junior Championships in Canada in the K4 1000m – missing a place in the A Final by just one spot.
A Bachelor in Music graduate at the NZ School of Music at Victoria of Wellington in 2015 he slipped a disc in his back and for the next two season his kayaking career stalled.
His injury problems behind him, Max made the B Final in the K2 1000m and K4 500m at the 2018 World Under-23 Championships before last year enjoying a huge breakthrough.
Paddling alongside Kurtis Imrie, the pair finished eighth in the A Final of the K2 1000m at the 2019 World Cup in Poznan before teaming up to place joint sixth in the B Final of the same event at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.
Competing alongside Kurtis, the pair booked a K2 1000m Olympic slot for New Zealand at the 2020 Oceania Championships in Sydney.
Based at Lake Karapiro as part of the men’s elite squad, Max teaches music part-time to primary school students in Cambridge.
