Topic: Thomas Hall

Thomas Hall (born February 21, 1982) is an Olympic sprint canoer from Canada. Born in Montreal, but raised in nearby Pointe Claire, Quebec, Hall is part of a water sport family that includes a mother who was an international kayaker and a sister who is a competitive canoer. He began his international career in 1999, winning a gold medal in the C-1 1000 m event at the Junior World Championships. At the time of the 2008 Summer Olympics, he had made a total of 44 top three finishes in international canoeing competitions, including 14 wins. Among these were a gold and a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. At the Beijing Olympic Games, he won a bronze medal in the Men's C-1 1000 metres event. As of 2008, he is a student at McGill University, pursuing a degree in physical education.

Hall was born in Montreal, Quebec. His mother was a kayaker who had competed in the North American championships in her sport. His sister is a competitive canoer as well and Steve Giles, Attila Buday and Tamas Buday Jr. are among his role models. He claims that J. R. R. Tolkien is a "key influence" for him and he re-reads The Lord of the Rings every year. As of 2008, he is a physical education student at McGill University. After joining the Pointe Claire Canoe Club, his first major victory was the Junior World Championships in August 1999 in Zagreb, Croatia, where he placed first in the C-1 1000 m event. Earlier that month, he had placed fifth in the C-1 20 km event at the Marathon Junior Cup in Hungary.

Beginning in 2000, Hall began competing in an increasing amount of international tournaments. In June 2000, at the Bochum International Regatta in Bochum, Germany, he took second, third and fifth place in the junior C-2 1000 m, C-4 500 m and C-1 1000 m events respectively. In August of that year, he finished second in the junior C-1 1000 m event at the Pan American Sprint Canoe Championships in Lake Placid, New York.