| Lani Belcher | |
| Nationality: | British |
| Birth Date: | 10 June 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Cobram, Victoria, Australia |
| Country: | Great Britain |
| Sport: | Canoe sprint Canoe marathon |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Lani Belcher (born 10 June 1989) is a British canoeist who previously represented Australia.[1] She competed in the women's K-2 500 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[2] Belcher won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Canoe Marathon World Championships in South Africa.[1]
Belcher was born in Cobram, Victoria, Australia in 1989, and lived in Brisbane.[1] [3] Belcher was a triathlete and a track cyclist before she took up kayaking.[3] [4] She began training at the Australian Institute of Sport's facilities in the Gold Coast.[3] In 2007, Belcher moved to England and trained at Elmbridge Canoe Club.[3] At the end of the following year, Belcher was released by the Australian team, allowing her to represent Great Britain.[3]
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Belcher finished in fifteenth place in the women's K-2 500 metres event, with her teammate Angela Hannah.[1] [5] Belcher and Hannah were included in the Olympics after teams representing Romania and Belarus were disqualified for doping.[4]
In 2017, at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Belcher won gold in the Women's K-1 event.[6] [7] It was Britain's first gold medal in the event in more than a decade.[8]