Para-canoeing kicks off on September 6 with three action-packed days that promise hotly contested competitions involving 100 para-athletes.

At the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, para-canoeing will take place among 450 newly planted trees in the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium, where para-rowing was also held.

Para athletes compete for medals in ten events using two types of boats: kayak and va’a, on a 200m course. Para-canoe was introduced at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, where only kayak events were held. The va’a will make its debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Kayaking is the faster discipline and athletes use a double paddle. The Va’as have an outrigger attached to one side of the boat to help them balance and athletes use a single paddle as they try to be the first to reach the finish line.

In three Paralympic Games in Para-Canoeing, Great Britain has been the most successful nation, winning a total of 12 medals, including six gold medals. Ukraine and Australia, who are second and third respectively in the Paralympic medal table, have six podium places with three wins each.

Five storylines for para-canoeing…

Kiss ready to repeat “unforgettable” Tokyo experience

Hungarian Peter Kiss became the youngest Paralympic canoe champion in Tokyo when he won the gold medal in KL1 at the age of 18.

“The moment my country’s national anthem was played at the Tokyo Paralympics, I felt an indescribable, enormous sense of pride,” said Kiss.

He has been a sensation in the sport since winning his first world title in 2019 at the age of 16 and will be the man to beat in Paris as he hopes to repeat the feat from his Paralympic debut three years ago.

“That’s my biggest goal right now and I’m doing my best to achieve it. I think it’s much harder to defend a title than to win it,” said Kiss, looking forward to his second games.

“I wish everyone there an unforgettable experience like I had in Tokyo.”

Wiggs and Henshaw lead Britain’s hunt for gold

Aiming to extend their lead in the para-canoe medal standings, British athletes are among the top contenders in several para-canoe competitions at Paris 2024.

Multi-talented Charlotte Henshaw won two Paralympic medals in para swimming before switching sports and becoming a dominant force in women’s KL2, winning every world title since 2018 and the Paralympic crown at Tokyo 2020.

Another British sport changer, sitting volleyball ace Emma Wiggs, who competed in London in 2012, won gold in the women’s Va’a singles VLT and silver in the kayak singles KL2 at Tokyo 2020 and could provide another medal haul for Great Britain in Paris.

“(Defending both titles in Paris) would be incredible, but the world has really stepped up,” said Wiggs, who became the first para-canoe athlete to win two medals at one Games.

“Steel Cowboy” on the hunt for more valuable metals

Brazilian Fernando Rufino de Paulo is nicknamed the “Steel Cowboy” after he claims to have survived 80 accidents in his life and become a four-time world champion.

The Brazilian, who was the first Brazilian paddler to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, took up para-canoeing after a career as a rodeo bull rider.

“I had a goal in rodeo and canoeing was the continuation of that. I just changed my modality, but I continued with the same goal of traveling abroad and getting to know other cultures and languages.”

In Tokyo 2020, the 39-year-old added a Paralympic VL2 gold medal to his impressive medal collection and is looking to defend that title in Paris.

Seipel wants to complete the collection

Former Australian para-dressage rider Susan Steipel is a three-time world champion in the women’s VL2 category. She has won a bronze and a silver medal in two Paralympic para-canoe appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and hopes to complete her medal tally in the French capital this summer.

Can McGrath defend his double gold medal?

Steipel’s teammate Curtis McGrath made history at Tokyo 2020 by becoming the first para-canoeist to win two gold medals at a single Games. The 36-year-old Australian defended the Kl2 title he won at the sport’s debut in Rio 2016 and won the first-ever edition of the men’s VL3.

In Paris, he hopes to defend his two titles at what could be his last Games.

“I think Paris will be my last Games and I want to enjoy every moment of it. (After having no fans in Tokyo) it will be a very special competition with the spectators of our friends and teammates,” McGrath said.

“To become a Paralympic champion, you have to work hard, make sacrifices, suffer physically and spend time away from your family. You have to be really committed and know what you want to achieve… But the journey there is the most important thing.”

Follow the Para-Canoe schedule and results