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Emma Wiggs

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Emma Wiggs
MBE
Personal information
Birth nameEmma Clare Wiggs[1]
NationalityBritish
Born (1980-06-14) 14 June 1980 (age 44)
Harrow, London
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)[2]
Sport
SportSitting volleyball (2010–12)
Paracanoe (2013–present)
DisabilityParalysis due to nerve injury
Disability classKL2 & VL2 (paracanoe)
Medal record
Women's paracanoeing
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro KL2
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Duisburg K-1 TA
Gold medal – first place 2014 Moscow K-1 TA
Gold medal – first place 2014 Moscow V-1 TA
Gold medal – first place 2015 Milan KL2
Gold medal – first place 2016 Duisburg KL2
Gold medal – first place 2017 Račice KL2
Gold medal – first place 2018 Montemor-o-Velho VL2
Gold medal – first place 2019 Szeged VL2
Silver medal – second place 2018 Montemor-o-Velho KL2
Silver medal – second place 2019 Szeged KL2

Emma Clare Wiggs, MBE (born 14 June 1980) is a British paracanoeist and former sitting volleyball player, who competes in the KL2 classification of paracanoe. She won gold at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the KL2 category, and is also a six-time world champion. As a volleyball player she was part of the Great Britain team that competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

Background

Wiggs was born in Harrow, London and grew up in Watford.[2] She attended Watford Grammar School for Girls.[3] At the age of 18 she contracted an unidentified virus during a gap year in Australia which caused paralysis in her arms and legs. Her arms later recovered, but she had permanent nerve damage in her legs.[2][4]

Wiggs graduated from the University of Chichester with a degree in sports and exercise sciences in 2003, and went on to qualify as a teacher by gaining the Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 2004.[5] She worked as a physical education teacher at Lavant House School in Chichester and The Regis School in Bognor before becoming a full-time athlete.[6]

Career

Wiggs took up sitting volleyball in 2010 after attending a UK Sport talent identification day, where she was offered the opportunity to train in five different sports but chose sitting volleyball because she wanted to compete in a team sport.[6] She captained the Great Britain team which won the bronze medal at the 2010 World Championships,[7] and was a member of the team that competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, finishing eighth.[8] At club level she played for Portsmouth Sharks.[9]

Wiggs switched to paracanoeing after the 2012 Paralympics. She became a full-time athlete, training at the Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham,[10] and won European and World Championship titles in the K1 200m TA class in 2013.[11][8] In 2014, she successfully defended both titles, and also won gold at the World Championships and silver at the European Championships in the V1W 200m TA class.[8][12] She won further world titles in the K1 200m KL2 class in 2015 and 2016,[nb 1][8] and also won the silver medal at the 2015 European Championships.[14]

Wiggs won gold in the KL2 class at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, the first Paralympics to feature canoeing events, with a time of 53.288 seconds.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ The International Canoe Federation reclassified the TA category as the KL2 category from 2015 onwards.[13]

References

  1. ^ "New Year's Honours list 2017" (PDF). Gov.uk. Government Digital Service. 30 December 2016. p. 91. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Emma Wiggs". British Canoeing. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  3. ^ Perring, Rebecca (12 September 2012). "Haitian Paralympic team's thrilling visit to Watford Grammar School for Girls". Watford Observer. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Rio 2016 Paralympics: Emma Wiggs aims for gold in Para-canoeing". BBC Sport. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  5. ^ Hiles, Rosie (6 September 2016). "Alumna Emma Wiggs is ready for Rio!". University of Chichester. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Teacher Emma's life has been changed by 2012 Paralympics bid". Bognor Regis Observer. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  7. ^ Foster, Sarah (11 October 2011). "Giving up never crossed my mind". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d "PROFILE: Emma Wiggs (GBR) KL2W 200m". International Canoe Federation. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Portsmouth Sharks star selected for Paralympics – The News". Portsmouth News. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Rio 2016: Emma Wiggs targets Para-canoe place after switching from volleyball". BBC News. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  11. ^ "GB Paracanoeists win five European Championship golds". BBC Sport. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Best ever medal haul for GB Paracanoe team at Sprint European Championships". English Federation of Disability Sport. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Paracanoeing". World Paddle Awards. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Emma Wiggs". Rio 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  15. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (15 September 2016). "Chippington, Wiggs and Dickins clinch ParalympicsGB canoeing golds". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emma_Wiggs&oldid=945556264"