Young

Jonathan Young broke through for the biggest win of his career at the 2017 World Championships, winning gold in the men’s VL3.

With the Va’a boats added to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic programme, Young has shown himself to be the strongest in his category so far. Reaching Tokyo would certainly make up for the disappointment of just missing qualification for Rio 2016 after finishing second in Great Britain’s selection trials.

“The day after selections for the Rio Games was a pretty rough day, I guess I was pretty emotional for a couple of months after that,” Young said after winning 2017 Worlds gold in Racice, Czech Republic.

“But I was invited to watch the Games as part of a Paralympic inspiration process. It inspired me to be the best paddler I could be, not necessarily a Paralympian, but the best I can possibly be.”

He injured his back in a skiing accident in 2012 and discovered Para canoe after attending a talent identification weekend with British Canoeing.

His first complete season was in 2014, where he won silver medals at the World and European Championships, but only in the Va’a boats, which were not part of the Rio 2016 programme.