The UK Sport PLx Awards have honoured Paddle UK’s Paracanoe programme with the Innovation Award for their prosthetics project.
The initiative brought together athletes, coaches, practitioners, and external experts in prosthetics, wheelchair design and engineering to find solutions to problems which have existed for years.
Led by Brian Cunniffe and Charlie Wade, the project focused on athlete-boat alignment, which resulted in significant performance improvements and enhanced athletes' lives off the water.
“This award is a special one for Paralympic sport in general,” said Wade, Paddle UK’s physiotherapist.
“It means a lot in terms of recognising the work that goes on behind the scenes and to equip para athletes with what they require to deliver under pressure.
“It was an award we weren't expecting, but it's a privilege. The award has rewarded the work that has been done so far, but there's a lot more to come, and we're really excited to see what the team is able to deliver this season and beyond.”
Multiple Paralympic champion Emma Wiggs, who was among the hosts of the 2025 edition of the Awards that celebrate achievements in the UK's high-performance sports community, saw Paris 2024 KL2 silver medallist and 2025 world champion David Phillipson finishing runner-up in the Spirit of High Performance category.
Also recognised was Matthew Lawerence for Coach of the Year.
“We are immensely proud of our whole performance team, and we were delighted to be represented in three categories.
“The team driving the innovation project is truly world-class class and all who are involved deserve this recognition.”
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Picture by Paddle UK.
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