Jane Nicholas
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 November 1992 Te Puna, New Zealand |
| Home town | Tauranga |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Cook Islands |
| Sport | Canoe slalom |
| Event | K1 & C1 |
| Club | Canoe Slalom Bay of Plenty |
| Coached by | Mike Dawson |
Jane Nicholas is a slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2009.[1] Jane represented New Zealand from 2009 to 2018,[2] before switching to the Cook Islands for the 2019 season, her father's country of birth.[3]
Nicholas made her international debut for New Zealand aged 16 at the 2009 Canoe Slalom World Cup, where she finished 26th in the overall ranking.[4] At the Foix 2010 Junior World Championships Jane finished 14th in C1 and 40th in K1.[5] At her final U23 World Championships at Foz do Iguaçu in 2015 she finished in 7th (K1 team), 16th (C1) and 29th (K1).[6]
At the end of the 2018 season Jane decided to switch her representation to the Cook Islands for a number of reasons including: support from both NOC's; being of Cook Islander heritage; and Luuka Jones' dominance of the sport in New Zealand.[3] Regarding the decision Nicholas stated: "I felt loyal to New Zealand as they had supported me through my whole slalom career. But I had the support of the Cooks, as well as New Zealand, to make the change".[7]
Jane earned her best senior World Championships results of 22nd (C1) and 39th (K1) at the 2010 and 2019 events, respectively.[2] The latter performance earned the Cook Islands an Olympic quota for the K1 event at the Tokyo Olympics as the 16th ranked eligible NOC. She was also permitted to compete in the inaugural C1 event due to having already earned a quota, making her 1 of 8 women to compete in both events.
At the delayed 2020 Olympics Jane finished in 22nd place in K1 after being eliminated in the semifinal,[8] and 21st in C1, being eliminated in the heats.[9]
