That frenetic burst of gold on the waters of the Lagoa will live long in the memory for Jeanette Chippington, Emma Wiggs and Anne Dickins, all of whom seized the moment as para-canoeing made its Paralympic debut on Thursday morning.
The honour of making canoeing history went to Chippington, a former swimmer whose previous gold came in Atlanta 20 years ago, and her slender victory in the KL1 final sparked a stunning hour of success for Great Britain’s female canoeists. Soon Emma Wiggs was winning the KL2 final, then Anne Dickins, who worked in the Velodrome as a Games Maker volunteer at London 2012, helped ParalympicsGB notch a century of medals in Rio with her triumph in the KL3 event.
“Girl power,” Chippington said, although there was more to come from the men – bronze for Nick Beighton and Ian Marsden in the KL2 and KL1 respectively. By the end of the morning, ParalympicsGB had five medals from six races. Rob Oliver finished fifth in the KL3 final.
The emotion of the occasion was almost too much for Wiggs, who contracted a virus that paralysed her and left her with irreparable nerve damage to her legs during a gap year in Australia 18 years ago. Her roar was piercing as she crossed the line.
“I don’t even know what came over me and then apparently I passed out but I don’t remember that either,” the 36-year-old said. “I passed out on the pontoon. I think it’s just an overwhelming flood of emotions and adrenaline and I’m just incredibly proud.”
Wiggs, who competed in sitting volleyball in London, is a four-times world champion. She recorded a time of 53.288sec to beat her rivals by 2.311. “My focus in the early years was getting my degree and getting my job as a PE teacher,” she said. “It wasn’t until quite late on that sport came into my life again and that moment has changed my life beyond all recognition and I’m so lucky to be making the most of the bits that I’ve got. The story is if you work hard enough it’s not about disability, it’s about the opportunities that come your way.”
Chippington’s race was a minor classic. Appearing in her sixth Paralympics and her first since Athens in 2004, the 46-year-old finished 0.114 in front of Germany’s Edina Müller. “When I crossed the line I thought the German had pipped me and she screamed so I thought that was it,” Chippington said. “I’ve medalled in every single Games so I came here just thinking I really hoped I would come away with a medal. I’m so proud of myself because right from the start with para-canoe I was very successful so there was a lot of pressure on me. I think that pressure got to me at the worlds this year when I got silver. Looking back I think that was the best thing that could have happened.”
Chippington was reluctant to take up canoeing at first. “I was really busy because I was still swimming to keep fit and doing some swimming teaching,” she said. “I tried out the canoeing and when they said we should try some coaching I said: ‘Look, I’ve done elite sport, I know it takes over your whole life and I don’t want to go there again.’ Six months later I won three or four golds at the world championships in Poznan and then it kind of spiralled on from there. It got to two years out from Rio and I thought I couldn’t give up then. I wouldn’t have changed the last four years but I don’t think people really know the massive commitment that it is.”
Chippington has transverse myelitis, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord. “I’ll always be doing kayaking,” she said. “Being in the chair it is hard to access a lot of places, whereas in a kayak you can get to places where you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get to in the chair.”
Her family has supported her throughout. “My daughter wrote a good luck card and she put: ‘It doesn’t matter what happens, Mum, just make sure you enjoy it – I’m really proud of how hard you’ve trained,’” Chippington said. “And I thought: ‘Oh my God, that’s what I say to her so it’s rubbed off.’”
Resilience was a recurring theme. Dickins, who squeezed past Australia’s Amanda Reynolds by 0.03, is a former endurance mountain biker who suffered a back injury that weakened her right leg. Unable to ride her bike, the 49-year-old volunteered in London 2012 – the uniform is under her bed – and a chance meeting led to an invitation to try out for the para‑canoe squad.
Dickins felt seasick the first time she got in a canoe. “I have really bad seasickness and I had three months of treatment for it last year,” she said. “It’s the same treatment that they give fighter pilots. I spent three months feeling completely wretched and absolutely nauseous.
“But it’s amazing. I can now go to see 3D films with my family, which I couldn’t do before, I can drive roundabouts without feeling sick and I can even read in the car. It was really bad – I couldn’t even look at a stripy shirt without feeling nauseous. I wear special glasses which cut out a third of the wavelengths [of light] from the water.
“I’d never been in a boat. When I was about two we went to Malta and my mum wanted us to go in this boat and I absolutely screamed the place down and I’ve never been in a boat since then. I’d always fly or catch a train. I feel so awful in a boat.”
Not any more.
