Paracanoeing

Paracanoeing is another sport in the Paralympics. Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities.4 This sport is fairly new. Paracanoeing started as an exhibition sport in the 2009 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, NS, Canada. In 2010, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that paracanoe would make its debut in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.1

There are two different paracanoe boats, Kayaks (K) with a double blade paddle and outrigger canoes called va’as (V) where the paddler has a second hull as a support float and uses a single blade paddle with a T-top handle. There are three different classifications for kayaks for mobility impairments. They are KL1, KL2, and KL3. In KL1, athletes have no trunk function. Just shoulder function. Athletes in KL2 have good use of their trunk and arms, but limited use of their legs. In KL3, athletes have good use of their legs, trunk, and arms for paddling. Men and women can be a part of all three of these classifications. The va’as have the same classifications, but instead of the K, it is a V. Athletes will compete in kayaks and in va’as; both men and women and mixed pairs event.4

Kelly Allen from Iron Mountain, Michigan competed in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. She was both with a rare birth defect that affects the pelvis and the femur called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency type D. Type D means that Kelly is missing her left femur, patella, and fibula. She uses a prosthetic leg for everyday life.3 At the 2016 games, she ended in 8th place in the 200 meter KL3 class. She finished in 54.720 seconds, which is only 3.372 seconds slower than the woman who won the gold.2

References

1ICF. (2016). Paracanoe. Retrieved from canoeicf: http://www.canoeicf.com/discipline/paracanoe

2IPC. (2016, September 15). Rio 2016 Paralymic Games. Retrieved from Canoe: https://www.paralympic.org/rio-2016/schedule-results/info-live-results/rio-2016/eng/cf/engcf_canoe-results-women-s-kl3-1-01.htm

3USOC. (2016). Team USA. Retrieved from Kelly Allen: Canoe/Kayak: http://www.teamusa.org/usa-canoe-kayak/athletes/Kelly-Allen#profile

4Wikipedia. (2016, September 10). Paracanoe. Retrieved from Paracanoe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracanoe