The first 60 paracanoe quotas – 30 for men, 30 for women – for next year’s Paralympic Games in Paris have been confirmed, following last month’s ICF World Championships and selection event in Duisburg.
Algeria has earned its first ever quota, courtesy of Brahim Guendouz’s bronze medal in the men’s KL3. It is the only new country so far qualified for the Games.
Great Britain once again has earned the most quotas, with seven – five women and two men – while Spain with six and Ukraine with five will also once again boast strong paracanoe participation.
Several countries have so far just the one quota. Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Chile, India, Israel, Kazsakhstan and New Zealand will all have the chance to further strengthen their teams at next year’s world championships in Szeged.
Iran, Ireland, Japan and Sweden, who each had athletes competing in Tokyo, are yet to earn a quota for Paris. In Japan there were 27 countries competing in paracanoe, while already there are 23 countries qualified for Paris 2024.
ICF Paracanoe committee chair, John Edwards, said the spread of countries underlines how the sport is growing stronger around the world, with athletes from five continents winning quotas in the first round.
“Of course once again the countries who have had strong paracanoe programs for many years, like Great Britain, Spain, Ukraine, Brazil and Australia, will once again have a strong presence at the Paraylmpics,” Mr Edwards said.
“But there is absolutely no doubt the rest of the world is catching up. We have a quota for Algeria, we have more athletes from countries who previously had smaller teams, and we have the opportunity for more countries still to join. The remaining 40 athlete quota slots will be decided at the 2024 Paracanoe World Championships in Szeged in May next year.”
In Tokyo 12 countries shared the medals, heading by Great Britain with three gold and seven overall. In Rio just nine countries shared medals, with GB once again leading the charge with three gold and five medals overall.
Paris will see the introduction of women’s VL3, taking to ten the total number of gold medals on offer, and returning the paracanoe Paralympic program to gender parity.
