Henshaw and Sugar retain Paralympic titles

Britain’s Charlotte Henshaw and Laura Sugar retained their Paralympic titles in impressive style as the Para-canoe events reached their climax in Paris.

Former swimmer Henshaw claimed her second title in Paris by retaining her kayak KL2 crown ahead of team-mate Emma Wiggs in a windy Vaires-sur-Marne.

Former sprinter Sugar added to Britain’s gold medal haul by securing back-to-back KL3 titles, while fellow Briton Hope Gordon came fifth.

And former Mr. England Jack Eyers took silver in va’a VL3 after being beaten by Ukraine’s Vladyslav Yepifanov.

Henshaw, 37, who underwent elbow surgery a year ago, achieved a Paralympic record in her victory in the VL3 final on Saturday.

And she was strong from the start in Sunday’s race, quickly building a lead over Hungary’s Katalin Varga and crossing the line with another Games-best time of 49.07 seconds.

Varga momentarily stopped rowing mid-race, allowing Wiggs to overtake her and finish in 51.56 to add silver to her VL2 title.

“Last summer I was racing with a really bothersome elbow and I had to decide between ‘do I do it now and hope I’m fit for the Games?’ or ‘do we take the risk and risk not being here at all?'” Henshaw told Channel 4.

“I’m very grateful that people advised me to do it when we could and when we did.

“I was a one-event swimmer so I only had the opportunity to compete for one medal and when it came time for these Games I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great to be able to get two medals?’

“The two golds were the icing on the cake and to have achieved them is simply incredible. I am immensely grateful.”

Sugar was locked in an early battle against home favourite and Tokyo silver medallist Nelia Barbosa, but once the 33-year-old got the better of her rival, there was no stopping her.

Her time of 46.66 seconds (1.25 seconds ahead of the Frenchwoman) was a new Paralympic record.

Among the other Britons in action, Jeanette Chippington – the oldest member of the ParalympicsGB team in Paris at 54 and competing in her eighth Games – was seventh in the KL1 final, while Ed Clifton finished in the same place in the men’s VL2.

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