Emma Clare Wiggs, (born 14 June 1980) is a British

paracanoe Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation (IVF ...

ist and former

sitting volleyball Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game. History Sitting volleyball was inve ...

player, who competes in the KL2 classification of paracanoe. She won gold at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in the KL2 category, gold and silver at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

in VL2 and KL2 categories, and is also an eleven-time world champion. As a volleyball player she was part of the Great Britain team that competed at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

Background

Wiggs was born in Harrow, London and grew up in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. She attended

Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford Grammar School for Girls (commonly abbreviated WGGS) is an academy for girls in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK. Despite its name, it is only a partially selective school, with 25% of entrants admitted on academic ability and 10% on music ...

. At the age of 18 she contracted an unidentified virus during a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

in Australia which caused

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

in her arms and legs. Her arms later recovered, but she had permanent

nerve damage Nerve injury is an injury to nervous tissue. There is no single classification system that can describe all the many variations of nerve injuries. In 1941, Seddon introduced a classification of nerve injuries based on three main types of nerve f ...

in her legs. Wiggs graduated from the

University of Chichester , mottoeng = By teaching, we learn , type = Public , established = 2005 , administrative_staff = 600 , vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore , city = Chichester, West Sussex , country = England, UK ...

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 The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

in 2004. She worked as a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

teacher at Lavant House (the school is now closed) in Chichester and

The Regis School The Regis School (previously Bognor Regis Community College) is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It converted to academy status from LEA control in January 2012 ...

in Bognor Regis before becoming a full-time athlete.

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. She captained the Great Britain team which won the bronze medal at the 2010 World Championships, and was a member of the team that competed at the

, finishing eighth. At club level she played for Portsmouth Sharks. Wiggs switched to paracanoeing after the 2012 Paralympics. She became a full-time athlete, training at the

Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre Holme Pierrepont Country Park, home of The National Water Sports Centre is located in the hamlet of Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham, England and on the River Trent. It is used for many different types of sports and has recently received sign ...

in Nottingham, and won European and World Championship titles in the K1 200m TA class in 2013. 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. She won further world titles in the K1 200m KL2 class in 2015 and 2016, and also won the silver medal at the 2015 European Championships. Wiggs won gold in the KL2 class at the

, the first Paralympics to feature canoeing events, with a time of 53.288 seconds. At the 2020 Paralympics she became the most successful Female Paracanoest, winning a further Gold in the VL2 and Silver in the KL2. She then continued her success with Gold and Silver at the Paracanoe Worlds in the VL2 and KL2.

Career outside Sport

Wiggs is a motivational speaker, ambassador and mentor. She has been chosen as one of 35 elite female athletes for the ‘Unlocked’ initiative, set up by Women’s Sports Trust, with the aim of challenging the lack of diversity in sport, particularly at a senior level; she is a performance champion at

Vitality Vitality (, , ) is the capacity to live, grow, or develop. More simply it is the property of having life. The perception of vitality is regarded as a basic psychological drive and, in philosophy, a component to the will to live. As such, peopl ...

, and she is also working in partnership with

Caravan and Motorhome Club The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members (caravanners, motorhomers and campervanners). Hi ...

supporting disabled access.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggs, Emma 1980 births Living people British women's volleyball players British sitting volleyball players Women's sitting volleyball players British female canoeists Paralympic canoeists for Great Britain Paralympic volleyball players for Great Britain Paralympic medalists in paracanoe Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics People educated at Watford Grammar School for Girls Members of the Order of the British Empire ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in paracanoe