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Newsletter By Dan Plouffe, Jackson Starr, Mark Colley & Kaitlyn LeBoutillier
Brianna Hennessy‘s remarkable rise into a world-class athlete culminated in a silver medal today at the 2024 Paralympic Games, as she paddled confidently to the podium in the women’s va’a canoe 200 metres race in Paris.
The 39-year-old’s journey – from her hospital bed after being struck by a speeding taxi, into a two-time Paralympian – hasn’t been so much about winning medals, but there’s no doubt that it shines awfully nicely.
“Silver has a good ring to it,” Hennessy said via the International Canoe Federation. “I feel like we’ve had to overcome so much to get here. I’m so proud.
“This year’s the 10-year anniversary of my accident. I should have died but I’ve been fighting back. This is the pinnacle for me. It made it all worth it.
“The Paralympics means more because everyone here has a million reasons to give up, but choose to go on. It’s about the camaraderie.”
An overwhelming day for the Ottawa River Canoe Club paddler got even more stunning when the Canadian Paralympic Committee chose her as its flag bearer for the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremonies alongside para swimmer Nicholas Bennett.
“What an absolute honour,” Hennessy wrote on Instagram. “I am speechless…which for those who know me…that doesn’t happen very often!!!”
“What a remarkable honour to be chosen to lead so many phenomenal heroes across our nation that have powered through so much adversity,” she added later in a CPC announcement. “Together, we are a symbol of an incredible celebration of our abilities in motion. We are one heartbeat, that I would describe as a magnificent phoenix rising up from the ashes, whose courage soars past all obstacles in its path – its feathers shimmering with bright Canada red and white feathers in its wings. Tomorrow we will celebrate being proudly Canadian as one big team.”
Hennessy, who was a champion boxer, ball hockey, rugby and hockey player before her life-altering injury, finished 1.105 seconds away from the va’a canoe podium in her Paralympic debut in Tokyo, less than a year after taking up paddling as an alternative to wheelchair rugby when COVID cancelled team sports.
Today, the five-time World Championships medallist finished 2.29 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher in a time of 1 minute, 0.12 seconds, just behind Great Britain’s Emma Wiggs, who won in 58.88. She became Canada’s first-ever medallist in para canoe-kayak.
WATCH CBC’S BROADCAST OF BRIANNA HENNESSY’S MEDAL-WINNING RACE:
Midway through the path between Tokyo and Paris, Hennessy lost her mother, who’d battled chronic illness for 20 years. Hennessy has tried to harness her mom’s “superhero spirit,” as she calls it, and the design on the paddle she used in Paris paid tribute to her.
“She’s my Wonder Woman and I knew when she passed away that she was passing a torch to me, to have that same fire in her heart that I want to have now,” Hennessy told CBC after her race. “I feel like this represents that and we did it together. I felt her with me the whole time today.”
Hennessy said her background in sport played a big role in summoning the motivation to push through rehabilitation following her injury, and that para sport has provided her ongoing rehab – physically and mentally.
“I always say that if I can inspire one person along my journey or that I’ve impacted somebody or given somebody hope along the way, then I’ve done my job, even more than what’s around my neck right now,” she added on CBC. “I feel that with my paddle family back home, and just inspiring that next generation, that fills my heart up to the top.”
Ottawa River Canoe Club comes alive for Hennessy watch party
Back in Ottawa, Hennessy inspired a group of three dozen supporters to rise out of bed in the wee hours to gather in a portable at the Ottawa River Canoe Club, and when the Tim Hortons coffee gave way to the celebratory champagne at 6 a.m., the early rise was more than worth it.
“It’s pretty exciting to see this place packed at 5:30 a.m. We just got power this year, so we are really, really excited that we can run a TV, not on the generator cutting in and out,” smiled L.A. Schmidt, who co-founded ORCC with husband Bevin 22 years ago. “Bri is such an inspiration at our club – for anybody really, but in particular our young women have supported her, driven her, and she’s included them in everything. She did a Petro-Canada commercial down here, and it was super cool because she had them engaged in a part of her journey.”
WATCH Supporters from the Ottawa River Canoe Club cheer on Brianna Hennessy during the final moments of her silver medal-winning Paralympics canoe race:
A major segment of those gathered were young ORCC paddlers. After seeing Hennessy receive her medal, they hit the water for some early-morning training, filled full of energy on a cool, rainy day a few weeks after the peak of their competitive season was complete.
“Some of them are provincial champions, and some of them are knocking on the door with immense potential, and they all race the hearts out, so when they get to see someone like Bri do it on the world stage, they’re not just looking at her like today winning a medal, they’re looking at her as a role model and as a real fireball for them,” Schmidt signalled. “It’s pretty neat to see them all come together like this.”
Schmidt was thrilled to see “an amazing human” who is “a joy to be around” excel and get rewarded for her achievements along with “the real village” behind her. But like Hennessy, she saw the medal win as much more than a prize for paddling powerfully to the podium.
“I get emotional,” sniffed Schmidt, who was a leader in pushing for women’s canoe to be included in Olympic/Paralympic competition, having been a male-only discipline until the Tokyo Games. “That’s part of why you saw a lot of tears. To see a young woman in a canoe brings me immense joy, because it’s something that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. It’s a really, really monumental piece for myself and every other person that worked so hard for women’s canoe.”
The podium performance was the culmination of immense dedication from herself, her coach/ORCC executive director Joel Hazzan and many others, but Schmidt noted that Hennessy’s exceptional story may not have occurred if ORCC hadn’t already been an accessible place, ready to welcome an athlete who wanted to try paddling during the pandemic.
The banks of the ORCC are fairly steep and rocky, and the water can get rough, but the club installed a ramp to get down, and the stable va’a canoe can help para, Special Olympics and masters paddlers get on the water safely.
“We always found a way from the get-go for everybody to have access to water here and we’re pretty proud of that,” Schmidt underlines, while encouraging all sport leaders to adopt a similar mentality. “Think really hard about what you do in your organization to be inclusive, because the joy it brings your organization, your club, your people, is phenomenal.
“You know, our kids here don’t think twice about hopping in a boat with anybody, and that is unique.”
Canada celebrates first sitting volleyball medal
Two athletes from the larger national capital region also celebrated their first Paralympic medals today.
Carleton Place’s Anne Fergusson and Pembroke’s Jolan Wong were part of Canada’s first-ever Paralympic podium performance in sitting volleyball, winning the bronze medal with a 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 victory over Brazil.
In Tokyo, the team lost the bronze medal match to Brazil.
“We finally did it,” head coach Nicole Ban said via Volleyball Canada. “We showed up in our third Paralympic Games, our second bronze medal match and we did it. We won.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the athletes today, but really for the growth that we’ve had over the nine and a half years that I’ve been with the program and honestly, most of this core group has been here through it.
“We’ve felt the highs and we’ve felt the lows and I hope that bringing back a bronze medal to Canada can only increase the awareness for young kids with disabilities in our country.”
Ottawa Paralympians in action on September 8:
Final Day Preview: Brianna Hennessy has one more race before flag bearer duties
Before Brianna Hennessy carries the Canadian flag at the Closing Ceremonies, she has one more important piece of business to take care of on the water – her KL1 kayak women’s 200 m competition.
She’ll race in the semi-finals in hopes of earning a spot in the A final less than an hour and a half later.
After winning her first Paralympic medal today in her canoe competition, Hennessy’s celebration plans were to go back to the team’s hotel and rest.
“For me, it’s not over yet, I still have kayak tomorrow, and whatever I have left in the tank, I’ll lay it out,” she told CBC. “Our team still has a bit of work to do, but hopefully we can take a few moments today together.”
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