🥈 Emma Wins Silver in KL2 Race 🥈
Emma rounded off a record-breaking Paralympic Games in Tokyo with a silver medal in the Women’s KL2 race to become the most decorated female paracanoeist at a Paralympic Games of all time, and the only female paddler to medal in both the Kayak and Va’a races at the same Games.
The KL2 Final was a gripping event, with Emma finishing with a time of 51.409, just 0.649 seconds behind Great Britain teammate Charlotte Henshaw, pushing her all the way to the line. All three podium finishers beat the previous Paralympic record time in what was a very quick race.
Emma and Charlotte’s medals helped ensure ParalympicsGB topped the Paracanoe medal table with seven medals overall, three of them gold.
Speaking after collecting her third Paralympic medal, fighting back tears, Emma said: “I’m exhausted, it’s been a crazy 24 hours!“
Reflecting on the race, she added: “I know Charlotte is a fantastic athlete and was going to be ahead so I just wanted to be as close as I could and be ahead of the rest of the world.”
“We wanted to show the world what we’ve got and I feel like we did that today. We put on the best performances we could and have come away with a gold and silver medal today.”
“I’m chuffed to bits for Charlotte and absolutely blown away to be next to her on the podium. She’s helped me become a better athlete and been a huge part of the squad these past five years. I’m just proud that as a ParalympicsGB team we’ve made disability impossible to ignore. I love this sport and will go on as long as the boats go faster.”
There’s no post-Paralympic rest period for Emma as she prepares for the 2021 Paracanoe World Championships in Copenhagen, set to take place from the 15th – 19th September, where she will again be competing in both the VL2 and KL2 events.
You can follow Emma’s progress on the British Canoeing website, which will have articles on each day of the Championships.
