HENNESSY Brianna

Date of Birth: 23 Sep 1984

Age: 36

Gender: Female

Sport Class: KL1,VL2

Place of residence : OTTAWA, ON

Residence Country:

Canada

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Canoe Sprint	Women's Kayak Single 200m - KL1	8
	Women's Va'a Single 200m - VL2	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Va'a Single 200m - VL2 Heat 1 #3	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 200m - KL1 Heat 2 #10	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Va'a Single 200m - VL2 Semi-final 2 #22	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Va'a Single 200m - VL2 Final A #29	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 200m - KL1 Semi-final 1 #34	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 200m - KL1 Final A #43	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Breezer (Instagram profile, 29 Jul 2021)

Occupation:

Exercise and Health Science, Kinesiology

Languages spoken:

Ottawa River Canoe Club [ORCC] [Canada]

Joel Hazzan [club]; Marc Creamer [national]

Sporting relatives:

Her parents both played football at national level in Canada. (sportskanazee.com, 09 Dec 2020)

Other sports:

Before her accident, she played amateur ice hockey at AA level in Canada, rugby at provincial level and was an amateur boxing champion in Ontario, Canada. She has also played wheelchair rugby for the Ontario provincial team in Canada and in the United States Quad Rugby Association. (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

She began Para canoe sprint in 2020. (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

She was first introduced to wheelchair rugby through the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre in Canada. When she was unable to train in the sport due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her wheelchair rugby coach Patrice Dagenais encouraged her to try Para canoe sprint. "I'd never done a water sport in my life. So, I was completely out of my element, but I'm also the type of person that's always looking for new challenges and ways to regain my purpose in life, since my accident, sports to me is the closest [thing] to home and is my sense of freedom and independence." (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

To compete at the Paralympic Games in 2020 and 2024. (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

Her parents and grandmother. (sportskanazee.com, 09 Dec 2020)

Philosophy:

"We don't know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have." (sportskanazee.com, 09 Dec 2020)

General Interest

Classification
KL1, VL2 (ICF, 30 Jul 2021)

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

Impairment Details
In 2014 she was struck by a taxi while crossing the road following a work conference in Toronto, ON, Canada. She fractured a vertebrae in her cervical spine [neck] and severed one of the arteries leading to her brain. She has tetriplegia and experiences chronic pain as a result of her injuries. (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

General
FIRST RACE
Her first competitive race in Para canoe sprint was at the Canadian Paralympic Trials for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "It was a lot of pressure on me. I didn't know [a lot], from the start line, to lining up my boat, to how quickly they would say, 'Ready, set, go'. I wasn't even in the correct boat. I was in a boat that was at least 10 pounds heavier than I was supposed to be in." (ottawasportspages.ca, 12 May 2021)

OCCUPATION
She works as a senior underwriting analyst at the Business Development Bank of Canada. (paralympic.ca, 16 May 2021)

Social Media

https://instagram.com/breezerhennessy

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos