Great Britain’s Jeanette Chippington has the bruises to show for her remarkable efforts on the water.
Peppered by hailstones in a torrential downpour in Milan, Chippington faced conditions that she had never experienced before in all her years of racing.
While many of those watching from the riverbanks at the International Canoe Federation Paracanoe World Championships ran for shelter, Chippington continued to paddle.
It was a performance that underlined the 55-year-old’s strength of character to overcome whatever challenges come her way.
“When I got to the start line, it was raining quite hard but by halfway I could hardly see the lane markings and the water was going into my eyes,” said Chippington.
“I got contact lenses so that was making it really tricky.
“All I kept thinking was just don't go out of lane, but in the last 50 metres it was hailstones.”
Chippington said it felt like someone was “throwing stones at you” as she sustained bruises to her legs, but the British paddler rose to the challenge.
View this post on Instagram
Not only did Chippington win that VL2 heat, but she also went on to clinch bronze at the World Championships.
“I couldn't have put anything more into this,” said Chippington.
“I knew that if I was in the mix that I could get a medal but doing it is a different matter.”
After coming through such a big test, Chippington would have been forgiven for taking some time off the water and celebrating her medal.
But Chippington is now poised to represent Great Britain at the upcoming ICF Paracanoe World Championships, running from September 4 to 7 in Gyor, Hungary.
It will be an historic moment for Paracanoe as it will be the first time paddlers will have the chance to compete for official world titles in the discipline.
“I've wanted to have a go at marathon for a while,” said Chippington.
“It's extra special because it's a medal event this year.
“I think I am probably the first GB female paddler that's done both sprint and marathon in the same year, so I want to do myself proud and just enjoy it out there.
“I’m paving the way and hopefully maybe other athletes from other countries will see my name and think, ‘if she can do it, then I can give it a go as well’.
“I'm really proud to be doing this.”
Paracanoe paddlers will compete for official world titles in the KL1, KL2, KL3, VL1, VL2 and VL3.
All the women’s events will be contested over six kilometres featuring two laps of the course.
“It is tough, especially the selection race which was 12 kilometres,” said Chippington, the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist in the women’s KL1.
“I am going from a 60-second race to like an hour and a half.
“But what it did expose was my fittings.
“They're okay for an hour's training, where you are stopping and starting but they weren't fine for an hour and a half of just constant paddling.
“I was in a bit of agony, and it did take me about a week to recover from it.
“It is a challenge because marathon and sprint are so different.
“But I like a challenge.
“Whenever someone writes me off, I'm going to show them.”
Related links
