Charlotte '˜chuffed' with silver at her first Euros
Swimmer turned canoeist Charlotte Henshaw is excited for what the future may hold after she battled her way to a silver medal at the European Para Canoe Championships in Bulgaria.
The Mansfield star came second in the women’s KL2 200m final in Plovdiv last week, finishing 2.8 seconds behind British team-mate and overall winner Emma Wiggs.
Henshaw, a Paralympic silver and bronze medallist in the pool who retired from swimming to take up canoeing in May, was pleased with her debut international performance.
The 31-year-old said: “Chuffed to come away from my 1st paracanoe international with a silver medal. Loved every (painful) second of racing at Euros! #firststep”
Henshaw posted the message on Twitter to her 42,900 followers after the competition and later admitted to being a touch overwhelmed at winning a medal at her first championships.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” she said. “I just wanted to enjoy the experience, so to come away with a British one and two is brilliant. “Since I started paddling I’ve found a new enthusiasm and motivation to train hard alongside my teammates and I want to send a huge thank you to the Talent Transition Team at UK Sport for supporting me in this new venture. I’m excited about the future.”
Wiggs, a three-time world champion, added: “It’s amazing to get a GB gold and silver and Charlotte absolutely smashed it.
“We couldn’t do it without our world class staff team and National Lottery support. It’s exciting to be winning medals in what is essential a build year for us.”