Paris 2024: Para canoe action starts with big names defending their titles
Australia's Curtis McGrath and Hungary's Peter Kiss are among the ones to watch in the water 05 Sep 2024
Para canoe kicks off on 6 September with three days of action promising hotly contested events from 100 Para athletes.
At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Para canoe takes place among the 450 newly planted trees at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium that also hosted Para rowing.
Para athletes will compete for medals in ten events where two types of boats are used; kayak and va'a, on a 200m long track. Para canoe was introduced at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games featuring only kayak events, the va'a making its Games debut at Tokyo 2020.
Kayak is the faster discipline and athletes use a double-bladed paddle. The va'as have an outrigger attached to one side of the boat to help balance and athletes use a single-blade paddle as they strive to reach the finish line first.
Across three Paralympic Games with Para canoe, Great Britain has been the most successful nation, winning a total of 12 medals, of which six are gold. Ukraine and Australia, in second and third position respectively in the sport's Paralympic medal table, are on six podium positions with three victories each.
Five storylines for Para canoe...
Kiss ready to repeat 'unforgettable' Tokyo experience
Hungary's Peter Kiss became the youngest Paralympic canoe champion in Tokyo when he clinched the KL1 gold medal at the age of 18.
"The moment when my country's national anthem was played in Tokyo at the Paralympics, I felt an indescribable, enormous pride," Kiss said.
He has been a sensation in the sport since winning his first world title in 2019 aged 16 and will be the man to beat at Paris as he hopes to repeat the feat from his Paralympic debut three years ago.
"This is my largest goal nowadays and I am doing my best to make it happen. I think it is much more difficult to defend a title than to achieve it," Kiss said, looking forward to his second Games.
"I wish everyone an unforgettable experience there, like I had in Tokyo."
Wiggs and Henshaw lead British quest for gold
Aiming to extend their lead in the Para canoe medal standings, British athletes are top contenders in several Para canoe events at Paris 2024.
Multi-talented Charlotte Henshaw won two Paralympic medals in Para swimming before switching sport to become a dominant force in the women's KL2, winning every world title since 2018 and the Paralympic crown at Tokyo 2020.
Another British sport-swapper, London 2012 sitting volleyball ace Emma Wiggs, won gold in the women's va'a single VLT and silver in the kayak single KL2 at Tokyo 2020 and could produce another Great Britain medal haul in Paris.
"(Defending both titles in Paris) would be incredible, but the world has really stepped up," said Wiggs, who became the first female Para canoe athlete to win two medals at one Games.
'Steel cowboy' chasing more valuable metals
Brazil's Fernando Rufino de Paulo is nicknamed the "Steel cowboy" after bouncing back from a self-confessed 80 accidents during his life to become a four-time world champion.
The Brazilian, who was first paddler representing Brazil to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, took up Para canoe after a career as a rodeo bull rider.
"I had a goal at the rodeo and canoeing was the continuation of that. I only changed my modality, but I continued with the same objective to travel abroad and to know other cultures and languages."
At Tokyo 2020, the 39-year-old added a Paralympic VL2 gold to his impressive medal collection and is out to defend that title in Paris.
Seipel aims to complete collection
Australia's former Para dressage rider Susan Steipel is a three-time women's VL2 world champion. In two Paralympic Para canoe appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 she has clinched a bronze and a silver and is hoping to complete her medal set in the French capital this summer.
Can McGrath defend his double gold medals?
Steipel's teammate Curtis McGrath made history at Tokyo 2020, becoming the first Para canoe athlete to win double gold medals at a single Games. The 36-year-old Australian defended the Kl2 title he won at the sport's debut at Rio 2016 and won the first ever edition of the men's VL3.
In Paris he hopes to defend his both titles in what could be his last Games appearance.
"I think Paris will be my last Games and I want to enjoy every moment of it. [After having no fans in Tokyo] it's going to be pretty special racing with our friends and teammates watching on," McGrath said.
"To become a Paralympic champion takes a lot of hard work, some sacrifices, a sore body, time away from family. You have to be really committed and know what you want to achieve... But it's all about the journey."
