Paracanoeing at the Summer Paralympics

Paracanoeing at the Summer Paralympics
Events	8 (men: 4; women: 4)
Games
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Medalists
http://www.paralympic.org/canoe

Paracanoe debuted at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. ^{[1] [2] [3]} A meeting of the International Paralympic Committee in Guangzhou, China in 2010 decided to add paracanoe to the roster of the Summer Paralympic Games. ^[4]

Paracanoe is a variant of canoeing for athletes with a variety of physical disabilities. The sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). ^[5]

Events

Competition at the Summer Paralympic Games consists of sprint races over a 200m straight line course. ^[6] Eight different events are held. ^[5]

Equipment

The first paracanoe programme at the Paralympics in 2016 featured competitors using single kayaks (K1). ^[6] For the 2020 paracanoe competitions, a second type of boat, the va'a, was added. This is an outrigger canoe propelled by a single bladed paddle. ^[7]

Competitor classification

There are three different classes for competitors with different physical mobility impairments: ^[6]

• KL1 - only arms are used for paddling
• KL2 / VL2 - trunk and arms are used for paddling
• KL3 / VL3 - legs, trunk and arms are used for paddling

Medal table

Updated to 2024 Summer Paralympics

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Great Britain  (GBR)	10	5	5	20
2	Australia  (AUS)	4	3	2	9
3	Ukraine  (UKR)	3	4	1	8
4	Brazil  (BRA)	2	4	2	8
5	Hungary  (HUN)	2	1	1	4
6	Germany  (GER)	1	2	4	7
7	Chile  (CHI)	1	0	1	2
	Poland  (POL)	1	0	1	2
9	Algeria  (ALG)	1	0	0	1
10	France  (FRA)	0	2	3	5
11	United States  (USA)	0	1	1	2
12	Austria  (AUT)	0	1	0	1
	Canada  (CAN)	0	1	0	1
	RPC  (RPC)	0	1	0	1
15	China  (CHN)	0	0	1	1
	Italy  (ITA)	0	0	1	1
	New Zealand  (NZL)	0	0	1	1
	Portugal  (POR)	0	0	1	1
Totals (18 entries)		25	25	25	75

Paralympic medalists

Men

KL1

The KL1 Class is for paracanoe paddlers who have very limited or no trunk function and no leg function. ^[8]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Jakub Tokarz   Poland	Robert Suba   Hungary	Ian Marsden   Great Britain
2020 details	Péter Pál Kiss   Hungary	Luis Carlos Cardoso da Silva   Brazil	Rémy Boullé   France

KL2

The KL 2 class is for paracanoe paddlers with partial leg and trunk function alongside good arm strength. A KL2 class paddler should be able to sit upright within the kayak but may require a backrest. ^[9]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Curtis McGrath   Australia	Markus Swoboda   Austria	Nick Beighton   Great Britain
2020 details	Curtis McGrath   Australia	Mykola Syniuk   Ukraine	Federico Mancarella   Italy

KL3

The KL3 class is for paracanoe paddlers with trunk function and partial leg function. ^[10]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Serhii Yemelianov   Ukraine	Tom Kierey   Germany	Caio Ribeiro de Carvalho   Brazil
2020 details	Serhii Yemelianov   Ukraine	Leonid Krylov   RPC	Robert Oliver   Great Britain

VL2

The VL2 classification mirrors the KL2 classification but in reference to the Va'a outrigger canoe type.

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2020 details	Fernando Rufino de Paulo   Brazil	Steven Haxton   United States	Norberto Mourão   Portugal

VL3

The VL3 classification mirrors the KL3 classification but in reference to the Va'a outrigger canoe type. Some KL2 paddlers will qualify in this classification as a consequence of the extra stability of the outrigger boat.

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2020 details	Curtis McGrath   Australia	Giovane Vieira de Paula   Brazil	Stuart Wood   Great Britain

Women

KL1

The KL1 Class is for paracanoe paddlers who have very limited or no trunk function and no leg function. ^[8]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Jeanette Chippington   Great Britain	Edina Muller   Germany	Kamila Kubas   Poland
2020 details	Edina Müller   Germany	Maryna Mazhula   Ukraine	Katherinne Wollermann   Chile

KL2

The KL 2 class is for paracanoe paddlers with partial leg and trunk function alongside good arm strength. A KL2 class paddler should be able to sit upright within the kayak but may require a backrest. ^[9]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Emma Wiggs   Great Britain	Nataliia Lagutenko   Ukraine	Susan Seipel   Australia
2020 details	Charlotte Henshaw   Great Britain	Emma Wiggs   Great Britain	Katalin Varga   Hungary

KL3

The KL3 class is for paracanoe paddlers with trunk function and partial leg function. ^[10]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2016 details	Anne Dickins   Great Britain	Amanda Reynolds   Australia	Cindy Moreau   France
2020 details	Laura Sugar   Great Britain	Nélia Barbosa   France	Felicia Laberer   Germany

VL2

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2020 details	Emma Wiggs   Great Britain	Susan Seipel   Australia	Jeanette Chippington   Great Britain

Multiple Medalists

The following canoeists have won 2 or more medals in para canoe at the Paralympic Games. ^[11]

Correct as of 16 September 2021:

No.	Athlete	Nation	Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Curtis McGrath	Australia	2016-2020	3	0	0	3
2	Emma Wiggs	Great Britain	2016-2020	2	0	1	3
3	Serhii Yemelianov	Ukraine	2016-2020	2	0	0	2
4	Edina Müller	Germany	2016-2020	1	1	0	2
5	Jeanette Chippington	Great Britain	2016-2020	1	0	1	2
6	Susan Seipel	Australia	2016-2020	0	1	1	2

References

1. "BBC Sport - Disability Sports - Canoeing and triathlon added to 2016 Paralympic Games". BBC News. 2010-12-11. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
2. "Canoe | IPC". Paralympic.org. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
3. "Para-Canoeing added to roster for 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio". Paddling Life. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
4. "Paratriathlon and canoeing for 2016 - Paralympics news - London 2012 | MSN Sport UK". Sport.uk.msn.com. 2010-12-16. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
5. "Canoe | IPC". Paralympic.org. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
6. "Paracanoe". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
7. "Paracanoe". ICF Canoe and Kayak. International Canoe Federation. 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
8. "Paracanoe". ICF - Planet Canoe. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
9. "Para Canoe Classification". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
10. "Paracanoe". International Canoe Federation. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
11. Note, Edina Muller, Jeanette Chippington, Laura Sugar and Charlotte Henshaw have previously achieved elite success in wheelchair basketball, para athletics and swimming respectively; these medals are not included in this table.