Henry Manni (born 18 June 1992) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and

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 who has competed and medaled in both fields at World Championship level. In Paracanoeing he won a bronze medal in the K-1 200 m TA event at the

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 19–22 August 2010 in Poznań, Poland, on Lake Malta. This was the third time that the Polish city hosted the championships, having done so previously in 1990 and 2001. Paracanoe (forme ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. Manni later switched to athletics as a wheelchair sprinter in the T34 classification. In 2013 he won a bronze in the World Championships in the 200m event, following this with four golds in the 2014 European Championships and three further World championship medals in 2015.

Personal history

Manni was born in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, Finland in 1992. He was born with

paraparesis Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

which saw his ability to walk unaided deteriorated from a young age. He obtained a degree in physical education from

Pajulahti Sports Institute Pajulahti Sports Institute ( fi, Liikuntakeskus Pajulahti) is a sports and leisure centre, situated in Nastola, Lahti, Finland. It is about an hour's drive away from Helsinki area, and fifteen minutes drive from Lahti city centre. Pajulahti has a ...

in Nastola. His younger brother Tuomas is also a para-athlete, competing in triathlon events.

As a paracanoeist

Manni was inspired to take up disability sport in 2004 after watching Finland's Leo-Pekka Tahti win gold at the Summer Paralympics in Athens. That year, at the age of ten, Manni took up paracanoeing. In 2010 he achieved his best paracanoe result when he won a bronze medal in the K-1 200 m TA event at the

, Poland.

As a track athlete

After the 2010 Canoe World Championships Manni switched to track athletics and was classified as a T34 athlete. Specialising in sprint events he was selected for the Finland team at the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, ...

in Lyon. There he entered four events, the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m sprints. He managed a podium finish in the 200m where he took bronze with a time of 30.70 seconds. The next year he travelled to

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

where he competed in the

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swanse ...

. Without the competition of international athletes such as Tunisia's

Walid Ktila Walid Ktila ( ar, وليد كتيلة; born 20 July 1985) is a Paralympic wheelchair racer from Tunisia who competes in short and middle distances in the T34 category. He won all 100–800 m events at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 world championships. ...

and Australia's Rheed McCracken, Manni dominated the field winning four gold medals in all four sprint events. In the build up to 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 Rio, Manni again represented Finland in the IPC World Championships, this time in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. He again entered all four sprint events in the T34 classification, and improved on all four times from his previous World Championship. In Doha he won a silver in the 400m and bronze in both the 200m and 800m events.

References

External links

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships men's K-1 200 m TA results.
- accessed 20 August 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Manni, Henry Finnish male canoeists Living people 1992 births ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in paracanoe KL2-classified paracanoeists Finnish male wheelchair racers Paralympic athletes for Finland Sportspeople from Lahti Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for Finland Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics