Charlotte Henshaw secured her second gold in Paris as Great Britain finished with a flourish of medals on the final day of Paracanoe racing at the Paralympic Games.
It was a British one-two in the women’s KL2 as Henshaw finished ahead of team-mate Emma Wiggs, while compatriot Laura Sugar successfully defended her women’s KL3 crown.
Great Britain’s other medal came in the men’s VL3 as Jack Eyers took silver after being beaten to the line by Ukraine’s Vladyslav Yepifanov.
There was also South American success, as Brazilian duo Fernando Rufino de Paulo and Igor Alex Tofalini got gold and silver respectively in the men’s VL2 and Chile’s Katherinne Wollermann was crowned women’s KL1 champion.
Despite blustery conditions, there were Paralympic Games best times in all five events on Sunday as paddlers thrilled the packed crowd at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
Great Britain finished top of the medals table in Paracanoe with four golds and four silvers.
Two of those golds were won by Henshaw, who backed up Saturday’s success in the women’s VL3 with victory in the women’s KL2.
It is the former Para swimmer’s third Paralympic gold in Paracanoe having also won the women’s KL2 title at Tokyo 2020.
“I only did 100m breaststroke when I was a swimmer, so I was always ready and prepared for one race,” said Henshaw.
“To come into a Games knowing that I have got a busier schedule, it was going to be really tight.
“We have been preparing for that for more than just this year.
“The dream was to stand on the top of the podium for both of them and I can’t believe that’s what has happened.”
Henshaw overcame strong winds to retain her title as Wiggs grabbed silver and Germany’s Anja Adler sealed bronze.
“That was a fight,” said Henshaw.
“That was probably the hardest 200m weather-wise I have ever had to do at a major.
“It was not pretty, probably not my best delivery in terms of how it looked but I’m really proud of how I managed to think quickly, draw on all my experience of water sports and managed to get that kayak to do what I wanted it to do and get over the line first.
“I am so proud of both myself and Emma for battling that.
“It has not been easy but I’m grateful that we got the job done and I can’t believe that I got a gold yesterday and I am standing here with another one.
“It’s just beyond what I could have imagined.”
Sugar was the third and final British paddler to strike gold after powering clear to make it back-to-back women’s KL2 titles in a Paralympic best time of 46.66.
“It’s not the best conditions but I know I’m capable of some really fast times, I’ve just not quite had the conditions to do it,” said Sugar.
“It doesn’t matter about times really on the day, it just matters about beating everyone else.
“But I’m really happy to improve that Paralympic Games best.
“We train in Nottingham in the UK, a little bit of wind doesn’t faze us, we’re not afraid of that.
“It’s just managing it and doing your race process, and then dealing with whatever happens during the race.”
Nelia Barbosa delivered another medal for France with silver, while Germany's Felicia Laberer secured bronze.
Wollermann won Chile’s first-ever gold in Paracanoe after emerging victorious in a thrilling women’s KL1 final.
Ukraine’s Maryna Mazhula was strong over the first 50 metres before Wollermann came roaring back to seal the title.
"I cannot even describe how I'm feeling right now,” said Wollermann.
“I've been fighting for this for 10 years now, I'm extremely happy to have this in my hand."
Mazhula picked up silver, while defending champion Edina Mueller of Germany had to settle for bronze this time around.
There was double delight for Brazil in the men’s VL2 as Rufino and Tofalini, sporting the same facial hair that was an homage to the film Wolverine, took the top two spots.
Rufino retained the crown in emphatic style as Tofalini edged Steven Haxton by just 0.03 in the battle for silver.
"I'm very proud of my country, and very proud to see it getting better at each Paralympics,” said Rufino.
“Brazil is a very strong nation in Para sports, so it's great to see it getting better and better.
“It feels amazing to get these two medals."
There was to be no second gold of the Games for Australia’s Curtis McGrath as the defending champion placed fourth.
The gold medal went to Ukraine’s Yepifanov who held off Eyers to seal the title, while New Zealand’s Peter Cowan claimed bronze.
"I didn't expect this,” said Yepifanov.
“I'm surprised and everything is good.
"I will not stop, and I plan to have two more gold medals."
Paracanoe schedule and results
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