Jacqueline's Story
Jacqueline Lachmann (nee Lawrence), from Northern NSW, was a somewhat surprising silver medallist in the kayak slalom singles at Beijing 2008. She became the second Australian woman medallist, after Danielle Woodward’s silver at Barcelona 1992, in this event. Lawrence had previously beaten her sister Kate, a World Cup series winner in the event, for selection in the Olympic team. Entering the final run down the course, Lawrence was in fourth place but a slick, penalty-free negotiation of the 21 gates saw her shoot to the head of the field, with three more highly seeded paddlers to complete their runs. She held on to her lead until the final competitor, the reigning Olympic champion Elena Kaliska, of Slovakia, completed the course with a 14.3 seconds advantage. In 2011, she married fellow canoe/kayak Olympian Torsten Lachmann.
