Brianna Hennessy

In a split second her life changed

Brianna’s journey to the Paralympics began in 2014 when she was attending a work conference in Toronto and while crossing the street was struck by a speeding cab driver. Knocked unconscious, she broke her neck and in a split second her life was changed. She lives with excruciating chronic pain and mobility challenges as a tetraplegic and has been fighting back ever since – choosing to turn devastation into strength. 2024 marked the 10th anniversary of her accident and at 39 years old Brianna remarkably made history for Canada becoming the first-ever paddler to win a Paralympic medal for our country at the Paris Games. She won silver in the VL2 Women’s 200m event. Her incredible silver medal performance was only 1.24 seconds from gold and 1.27 seconds ahead of bronze – showing just how close the difference between the podium or not can be. As a two-time Paralympian Brianna is an empowering example of resilience and of how every second counts in life and in sport.