Ottawa canoeist Brianna Hennessy wins Paralympic silver medal

Brianna Hennessy of Canada reacts after winning silver in the VL2 Women 200m during the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Dartmouth, N.S. on Friday, August 5, 2022. (Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press)

Canadian para canoeist Brianna Hennessy raced to her first Paralympic medal with a reminder of her mother on her paddle.

The 39-year-old from Ottawa became the first Canadian to win a Paralympic medal in canoe with silver in the women's 200-metre sprint Saturday in Paris. Para canoe made its debut in 2016.

The design on Hennessy's paddle includes a cardinal in remembrance of her late mother Norma, the letter "W' for Wonder Woman and a cat.

"My mother passed away last year, so I said I'd be racing down the course with her," Hennessy said Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

"In our family, a cardinal represents what our love means. My mum was my Wonder Woman, and this is a cardinal rising up. This is our family pet that passed away two months after my mum, of cancer, because I think their love was together.

"All this represents so much to me, so it's my passion piece for Paris."

Hennessy and triple-medal swimmer Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., were later named Canada's flag-bearers for Sunday's closing ceremonies.

Hennessy finished just over a second behind gold medallist Emma Wiggs of Britain in the women's VL2 Va'a, which is a canoe that has a support float and is propelled with a single-blade paddle.

Hennessy's neck was broken when she was struck by a speeding taxi driver in Toronto in 2014 when she was 30. She has tetraplegia, which is paralysis in her arms and legs.

"This year's the 10-year anniversary of my accident," Hennessy said. "I should have been dead. I've been fighting back ever since.

"This is the pinnacle of it all for me and everything I've been fighting for. It made it all worth it."

After placing fifth in her Paralympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, Hennessy was a silver medallist in the last three straight world championships in the event.

She will race the women's kayak single Sunday. Hennessy and Wiggs have a tradition of hugging after races.

"I always talk about the incredible athletes here, and how the Paralympics means so much more because everyone here has a million reasons to give up, and we've all chosen to just go on," the Canadian said. "It's more about the camaraderie."

Hennessy boxed and played hockey and rugby before she was hit by the taxi.

She was introduced to wheelchair rugby by the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.

She eventually turned to paddling at the Ottawa River Canoe Club, which led her to the Paralympic podium in Paris.

"It has a good ring to it," Hennessy said. "I'm so happy. I feel like we've had to overcome so much to get here, especially in the last year and a half. I'm just so proud."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.