(2015 ☆ ARCHIVED) Jeanette Chippington - Great Britain

JEANETTE CHIPPINGTON (Great Britain) - Nominee for 'Sportswomen of the Year.'

• Born: 1970, Disciplines: kayak and va'a, Represents: Great Britain
• 2015: gold KL1 200 World Championships, Italy; gold KL1 200 European World Championships, Czech Republic.
• 2014: 2 x gold - K1 (A) and V1 (A) World Championships, Russia; gold K1W (A), V1W (A) European Championships, Germany.
• 2013: 3 x gold - K1 (A), V1 (TA) and V1 (A) World Championships, Germany; gold V1 (LTA) European Championships, Portugal.
• 2012: 3 x gold - K1 (TA), K1 (A) and V1 (LTA) World Championships, Poland; gold V1 (LTA) and bronze K1 (LTA) European Championships, Croatia.

Jeanette Chippington competed at five Paralympic Games as a swimmer before making the switch to kayaking. With 9 world titles under her belt, her eyes are firmly set on Rio de Janeiro and a sixth Paralympic Games.

Jeanette took up paracanoeing in 2011 after being nagged by a friend to try it out. She has since become an international sensation, becoming the most successful paracanoeist since its inception into the World Championships in 2010.

With it’s debut set for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, the World Championships in Milan acted as an important stepping stone for all athletes, where qualification was on the line. Focussing just on the Paralympic discipline of KL1 200, Jeanette won her fourth consecutive world title in a time of 58.865s, 0.648s ahead of Edina Muller of Germany.  This win secured a quota spot for Great Britain, where Jeanette has the chance to become the first Paralympic Champion of her class.

In 1982 she contracted a virus which resulted in damage to her spinal cord which in turn left her paralysed in both legs, therefore Jeanette competes in the 'KL1' category, previously known as 'Arms' only in the disciplines of K1 (Kayak) and V1 (Va’a).

In the past, she has also raced up categories into the now-redundant classifications of ‘Trunk and Arms’ and ‘Legs Trunk and Arms,’ competing against athletes who had more mobility than her - she won numerous medals in both classes. With nine world championships to her name, spanning accross these categories, she is certainly the one to beat leading into the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Jeanette Chippington's sheer grit and determination is an inspiration to all of her friends, family and teammates. She is a role model for athletes making the transition from other disability sports and encourages new paracanoesists to take up the sport.

Activities and achievements on and off the water:

• Collected the 2014 World Paddle Award in person in Augsburg for 'Team of the Year' on behalf of Team Great Britain Paracanoeists
• She has 2 children
• Works as a swimming instructor and coach
• She married in 1998, flying from her honeymoon to compete in the IPC Swimming World Championships in New Zealand
• 5 time Paralympian as a swimmer, winning 12 medals including two golds

This is a 2015 archived nominee. Voting has closed.