Emma Wiggs MBE, one of the most decorated athletes in paracanoeing history, retained her VL2 title and won silver in the KL2, at the Paris Paralympic Games.

It was the same results as Tokyo when she became the first female athlete to win two Paralympic paracanoe medals at a single Games.

Emma first won KL2 gold when paracanoeing made its debut at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.

She secured the 12th world title of her glittering career in Szeged in 2024, dominating the VL2 final to win gold, taking her career world tally to 16 medals in total.

Already a four-time European champion and two-time silver medallist, Wiggs won double gold at the event for the first time in 2022.

Those performances saw Wiggs achieve her second paracanoe ‘Grand Slam’, holding the Paralympic, European and world titles within the calendar year. Her first paracanoe ‘Grand Slam’ came in 2017 and she was awarded an MBE for services to canoeing in the 2017 New Year Honours.

Wiggs' Paralympic experience isn't limited to paracanoeing. At London 2012 she competed for ParalympicsGB in sitting volleyball. Post-London she embarked on a mission to find a sport that would give her a chance to be the best she could be and found canoeing.

Wiggs grew up in Watford and excelled at hockey. At 18, while on her gap year, she contracted a virus that initially paralysed her and left her with irreparable damaged nerves in her legs.

Despite this life-changing event, Wiggs was determined to pursue her chosen career as a PE teacher; studying sports science and gaining a PGCE in secondary PE.