Paracanoe Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation ( ...

debuted at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio de Janeiro. A meeting of the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, China in 2010 decided to add paracanoe to the roster of the

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

is a variant of

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

for athletes with a variety of physical disabilities. The sport is governed by the

International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...

(ICF).

Events

Competition at the

consists of sprint races over a 200m straight line course. Eight different events are held.

Equipment

The first paracanoe programme at the Paralympics in 2016 featured competitors using single kayaks (K1). For the 2020 paracanoe competitions, a second type of boat, the

va'a Vaʻa is a word in Samoan language, Samoan, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian and Tahitian language, Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. It is cognate with other Polynesian words such as ''vaka (sailing), vaka'' or the Māori language, Māo ...

, was added. This is an

outrigger canoe Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull (watercraft), hull. They can range from small dugout (boat), dugout canoes to large ...

propelled by a single bladed paddle.

Competitor classification

There are three different classes for competitors with different physical mobility impairments: *

KL1 KL1, or Kernel Language 1 is an experimental and-parallel version of KL0 developed for the ICOT Fifth Generation Computer project. KL1 is an implementation of Flat GHC (a subset of the Guarded Horn Clauses language by Kazunori Ueda), making ...

- 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 The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

Paralympic medalists

Men

;

The KL1 Class is for

paracanoe Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation ( ...

paddlers who have very limited or no trunk function and no leg function. ; KL2 The KL 2 class is for

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. ; KL3 The KL3 class is for

paddlers with trunk function and partial leg function. ; VL2 The VL2 classification mirrors the KL2 classification but in reference to the

Va'a Vaʻa is a word in Samoan language, Samoan, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian and Tahitian language, Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. It is cognate with other Polynesian words such as ''vaka (sailing), vaka'' or the Māori language, Māo ...

outrigger canoe type. ; VL3 The VL3 classification mirrors the KL3 classification but in reference to the

outrigger canoe type. Some KL2 paddlers will qualify in this classification as a consequence of the extra stability of the outrigger boat.

Women

;

The KL1 Class is for

paddlers who have very limited or no trunk function and no leg function. ; KL2 The KL 2 class is for

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. ; KL3 The KL3 class is for

paddlers with trunk function and partial leg function. ;VL2

Multiple Medalists

The following canoeists have won 2 or more medals in para canoe at the Paralympic Games.Note, Edina Muller,

Jeanette Chippington Jeanette Clare Chippington (née Esling; born 21 April 1970) is a British Paralympic swimmer and paracanoeist. Chippington has represented Great Britain at seven Paralympics, five in swimming Summer Paralympics, 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1 ...

, 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. ''Correct as of 16 September 2021'':

References

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

Sports at the Summer Paralympics Paracanoe Long stubs with short prose {{paralympics-stub