Chippington, who competed at five Games stretching back to Seoul 1988 as a swimmer before switching sports, is hoping to be one of the stars at those Games in Brazil. 

"I wasn't looking to get into another sport but a friend mentioned trying kayaking and it sort of came naturally really," she told insidethegames.

"The two are visually quite similar because you have to think about reaching forwards and getting the catch in exactly the same way and I still do swimming as cross training.

"The training is different because swimming is usually restricted to early mornings or evenings whereas canoeing you can basically go out when you want to - except I can't go on my own as I need someone to lift the boat!

"I always feel really disloyal to swimming saying this but being out on the river is so different and I find the training for canoeing much nicer.

"The World Championships were a fantastic achievement and the result of a lot of hard work.

"Everyone else will be upping their game, but I'm a bit ahead at the moment so if I keep upping mine as well I will hopefully stay ahead."

Jeanette Chippington won a stunning three gold medals at the recent world championships in Duisburg


With a Paralympic career stretching back quarter-of-a-century Chippington is not short of experience and she explained what has changed, in a competitive and a general sense, over her career.

"When we went to Seoul it was more volunteers whereas now there is far more support staff and we've got mechanics, medical staff and psychologists, for example," she said.

"In a general sense some things have changed and others haven't."

"I go into a lot of schools and people know I'm going in as a Paralympian and the attitudes of young children have changed a lot.

"But I have to say I've always had positive experiences ever since becoming disabled which is a few years now - people are always willing to help you on public transport and stuff and I never turn down an offer to help.

"There is a worry over whether you should but I like that when you see someone struggling with a bag you help them don't you?"

As well as Chippington's three gongs in the K1 A, V1 A and V1 TA events all held over 200 metres, Britain swept the medals table in Duisburg.

Other podium finishes included Dan Hopwood, Nick Heald, Emma Wiggs and Andrea Green, with latter two both having also switched from other sports after competing in sitting volleyball at London 2012.

Medal winning members of the British Para-canoe team are measured up for their new kit


The head of the Paralympic programme Steve Harris explained the recruitment process for Rio 2016.

"Recruitment was firstly and largely done by the athletes themselves," he told insidethegames.

"They've had experience in other sports and then they see what we have to offer and decide whether to take a new opportunity.

"We offer a great package and provision and obviously I love our sport and I think that everyone who comes here does as well.

"Those athletes are now fully embedded and most went to the World Championships and won medals."

He explained how the squad are the current world leaders, but the rest of the world is catching up, so that his job is "keeping Britain slightly ahead".