Bronze-medal winning UAE kayaker hails Abu Dhabi as 'paddling world's best kept secret'

Ellecia Saffron finished third on her Ocean Racing World Championship debut, and now wants to help raise the sport’s profile back home

Ellecia Saffron has been a resident of Abu Dhabi for 16 years and opted to represent the UAE rather than Australia.

The first woman to represent the UAE in kayaking hopes she can inspire more female participation in the sport after taking bronze on her international debut for the country.

Ellecia Saffron finished third in the masters’ category of the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Perth last weekend.

It was the first medal the country has won at an international event since the Emirates Canoe and Rafting Federation started entering competitions in 2022.

Originally from Australia, Saffron opted to represent the UAE having lived in Abu Dhabi for the past 16 years.

“I love the UAE,” Saffron, 40, said. “People have asked, ‘Why did you represent the UAE?’ Australia had around 300 people in their team, and in the UAE, we had three.

“I would really love to help promote the sport, especially for women, and help lift the profile. It is such an amazing sport and has given me so much.

“It has helped me through tough times, and has given me so much joy and so many wonderful times.

“I love being out there doing what we do, but the thing that matters most to me is the community. It gives you purpose first thing in the morning, and 20 or 30 people to have a coffee with afterwards.

“All the efforts that have been made in setting up the Emirates Canoe and Rafting Federation and setting this team up, I want to support that. Hopefully by entering as a UAE competitor, I can do that.”

Saffron is only new to the sport herself. She first took it up during Covid when she was caught in Australia by travel restrictions, as it was one of the few activities still permitted during lockdown.

In less than three years she has become proficient enough to take a podium finish at an international event, having already previously placed at the gruelling 52km Moloka’i to Oahu race in Hawaii.

Ellecia Saffron after finishing third at the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championship in Perth. Michele Eray, of the United States, took gold

She juggles training around running her own business advisory firm, Maysaffron, and after returning from Perth she was straight into working with her clients at Cop 28.

“I was just going to the gym a couple of times a week,” Saffron said of how she first came to kayaking.

“I had never raced or done any of this sort of thing. It was new to me. What prompted me was a friend of mine was trying it during Covid, so I used that opportunity to try it as well. I picked it up and became addicted very quickly.

“I can’t believe I only took it up three years ago. I wish I had discovered it sooner. I moved here when I was 24. Think of all those afternoons I could have been paddling.

“There are amazing conditions here. Abu Dhabi is the paddling world’s best kept secret.”

In little time, she began competing in the Shaw and Partners Australian Ocean Racing Series.

Ellecia Saffron only took up kayaking three years ago as it was one of the few sports accessible during Covid

She also raced in the event which concludes that series the week before she represented the UAE in the World Championships in Perth.

Because the field for that race is international, she had an idea of where to benchmark herself ahead of the competition, and she says she was aiming for third place.

Although she achieved it, she was not aware of doing so at the time, having completed the 22km race in a touch over 1 hour 48 mins.

“I’m not very good into a headwind as some of the girls are heavier than me and my boat combined, and I am not that strong as I am still new to the sport,” she said.

“I fall behind in the 2km headwind, then am trying to catch up when we turn into the downwind, and can reduce the space between me and the others.

Ellecia Saffron on the water during the race in Perth

“My goal was to get the bronze as I knew there were two other girls who were probably stronger than me in the category.

“I came in thinking that I probably hadn’t got where I wanted to get, and that is OK. I didn’t have a great exit from my boat, but I still sprinted up and as I crossed the line they announced it.

“I didn’t hear it but all my friends that were there grabbed me and said I had got it. It was an exciting moment.”

The other members of the UAE team in Perth, Dubai-based Balazs Bartfai and Fraser Hallatt, finished 20th and 21st respectively, in the junior race.

Yaser Alkatheri, the president of Emirates Canoe and Rafting Federation, said the performance of the three competitors shows the progress the sport is making in the country.

“Their success is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and the supportive paddling community in the UAE,” Alkatheri said.

“It’s an exciting time for the sport in the nation, and these achievements are sure to inspire a new generation of paddlers.”