Started off at leaside canoe club in 1974 at that time she was training with Paul Barnett another young and promising whitewater canoeist.Lesley Smither (born 12 March 1958) is a British canoe sprinter who competed in the early to mid-1980s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, she earned her best finish of seventh in the K-4 500 m event at Los Angeles in 1984.