Emma wins 10th World Championship gold medal in VL2 Final 2022

This year, Emma replicated her performance at last year’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo to take home her 10th World Championship gold medal in August’s 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.

Emma had an incredibly strong start to the women’s VL2 finals, storming out of the bucket to take the lead early on.. She secured a strong victory, gaining almost three seconds on second place competitor Brianna Hennessy, from Canada.

Emma was joined on the podium by fellow British competitor Jeanette Chippington, who won bronze, helping to add a second medal for Great Britain in the women’s VL2 final.

Delighted with the results, Emma spoke to British Canoeing on this year’s victory:

“I’m really relieved, really chuffed. It’s been a tough year for lots of reasons, lots of changes and really suffering a bit of confidence. I’m just really pleased to get here and deliver a run that made the people I love proud.

“I’ve never done a straight final in the Va’a, so I was nervous, particularly with not racing for a year,” Emma continued. “So I was really pleased to control my nerves on the starting line and just give it all I had. It felt a long way but I’m really chuffed. And to have Jeanette on the podium as well is just amazing. Amazing.”

Despite the fantastic results, Emma doesn’t plan on stopping with her 10th gold medal, but admits there may be some tough competition in the future.

“The rest of the world is stepping up,” said Emma after the race. “They’re coming for us, so we’ve got a lot more work to do to try and stay ahead.”