Paralympic champion Charlotte Henshaw reveals sporting icons helping her through endometriosis battle

Paracanoe gold medallist Henshaw faced a nine-year battles to be diagnosed with the incurable condition

Charlotte Henshaw won KL2 paracanoeing gold at Tokyo 2020 (Getty Images)

Paralympic champion Charlotte Henshaw hailed the role of fellow athletes Leah Williamson and Elinor Barker in normalising endometriosis.

Two years ago Henshaw was diagnosed with the incurable condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, causing severe pain and other complications.

She joined Arsenal and Lionesses star Williamson and Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Barker in sharing her struggles publicly, hoping that no one will feel as alone as she did when diagnosed.

“When I ended up having my operation and getting diagnosed, I was looking around for like-minded individuals and there were very few people I could go to,” said the canoeist.

A spontaneous phone call from Barker, who revealed that she nearly quit cycling due to endometriosis, proved a turning point.

“Elinor didn’t know who I was but she gave her time to me, she called me before I went into surgery and spoke to me,” said Henshaw. “That really helped and I knew that if I ended up having that diagnosis, I wanted to do the same for other people.”

Henshaw fought her way to Paralympic gold in Tokyo (Getty Images)

Henshaw is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing her to train full-time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.

Henshaw navigated a change in sport – she won medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016 as a swimmer – to canoeing while experiencing symptoms.

It took her nine years to be diagnosed and the Nottingham native wants to raise awareness of the condition and its challenges.

“My diagnosis coincided with a real shift in the media of wanting to talk about female health,” she said. “I am very glad I spoke out about it. I’m happy to continue doing so because there’s still so much progress that needs to be made.

“On a personal level, it has fostered so many interesting and valuable conversations that have ultimately helped my performance. I’m hoping that it’s effecting change and helping people have honest conversations – whether they’re involved in sport or not.”

With the Paris 2024 Paralympics approaching, the Games are set to inspire people and communities all across the country. Henshaw hopes that by sharing her story it will give others motivation to get involved in sport.

Henshaw has become an elite canoeist after her switch from swimming (Getty Images)

Henshaw overcame adversity to win KL2 canoeing gold at her third Paralympics in Tokyo. The 36-year-old has since won three straight world titles in the discipline, fuelling hope of a successful title defence in the French capital.

“I achieved my ultimate dream in Tokyo,” said Henshaw. “I had that conversation when I came back, I wanted to make sure I was staying for the right reasons and not just because I felt like I had to stay.

“I had to find that new motivation because the ultimate driver had been achieved. What drives me now is how much I can push myself on and move the sport forward in the process. I want to leave para canoe in a better place than when I found it.”

Henshaw has switched coaches since the last Games, now working under Hannah Brown, a paddler herself until she retired in 2019.

“Different coaches bring different ways of doing things, even if the philosophy is the same,” said Henshaw. “I’d only had one coach since joining canoeing so I was very well versed in how I did things.

“Hannah is young, really knowledgeable and she has some new ideas. She’s keen to learn and push and see where we can go.

“It’s been hugely inspiring for me as an athlete to try new things, I’m a different paddler now than I was at the time I started working with Hannah.

“Throughout my sporting career, it’s been so important to get that relationship right. It does take time and I hope that in Paris it will come into its own, and we’re going to see exciting things.”

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