| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Erica Carmela Scarff |
| Born | August 16, 1996 |
| Home town | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | Brock University (St. Catharines) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Sport | Paracanoe |
| Disability | Osteosarcoma survivor |
| Disability class | KL3 |
| Club | Mississauga Canoe Club, Mississauga, Canada |
| Coached by | Mari Ellery |
Erica Carmela Scarff (born August 16, 1996) is a Canadian paracanoeist who competes in international level events. [1]
She was a former national gymnast before she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma aged twelve after she broke her right leg when she ran into a vault in her gymnastics training session. Her leg was amputated soon after, in 2009. [2] Scarff was a very active person before her diagnosis: she tried swimming, cycling and alpine skiing but chose canoeing. Since her diagnosis, she was inspired by Terry Fox who also had the same cancer as she did. [3] [4]
Scarff attended Brock University and studied kinesiology. [5]
Scarff began her paracanoe journey after visiting Balmy Beach Canoe Club in 2013, training there under Mari Ellery. [6] In 2014, she took a semester off from her studies at Brock University to train paracanoe in Florida. [5] She placed sixth in the women's KL3 200-metre race at the 2016 Paracanoe World Championships. [7]
Scarff competed in paracanoe at the 2016 Paralympics, the year the sport made is Paralympic debut. [8] [9] She place seventh in the women’s KL3 paracanoe sprints at the Games, 2.56 seconds behind the gold medalist. [6] At the 2017 Canoe Sprint World Cup, Scarff won bronze in the women's KL3 200-metre. [10] She placed first at the 2018 National Team Selections in the Para K1 women's 200-metre. [11]
In 2021, Scarff began training VL3. [12] In the women’s VL3 200-metre at the 2023 ICF World Canoe and Kayak Sprint Championships, Scarff won silver. [13] She also won three gold medals in sit skiing at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. [14] [15]
Scarff will compete for Canada in paracanoe at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. [16]
Scarff was hit by a car in 2018, resulting in injuries causing setbacks to her paracanoe career, [17] including not qualifying for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. [12]
