Jeanette Chippington was delighted to give something back to her family and friends as she finished fourth at her eighth Paralympic Games.
The 54-year-old from Maidenhead competed at five Games as a swimmer before making the switch to Para canoe ahead of Rio 2016.
Paris 2024 marked the first Games where she did not medal, but she was pleased to reward the sacrifice her friends and family have made.
“There is the obvious, a lot of training that gets you to eight Games,” Chippington said, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with ParalympicsGB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.
“But 100 per cent, it is the support my family and friends give me.
“You have to be quite selfish at times, they have always been there for me, they are all out here now.
“It’s amazing, I’ve got a huge crowd, my friends and family out here. They all get something out of it as well.
“They’ve had such an amazing time. They always come to the Games to watch me and they couldn’t come to Tokyo.
“I do feel it isn’t all about me, it’s them having a wonderful time and enjoying that experience along with me.”
Chippington just missed out on a medal in the women’s VL2 before finishing seventh in the KL1 final on Sunday.
She was hailed as an inspiration to fellow swimmers turned paddlers, Charlotte Henshaw and Hope Gordon, who are leaving the Games with three medals between them.
Great Britain topped the sport’s medal table, just as they did in Rio and Tokyo, this time with four golds and four silvers.
She added: “I really am just so proud of myself. First of all to get that qualification spot in the boat was extremely hard. But that’s just the beginning of it.
“We then have to do our qualification back home. To just go through all that is really hard to get to the Games.
“Then being here, it’s my eighth Paralympic Games, just amazing. I take it in my stride a bit, but even I think ‘this is amazing, I’m pretty proud of myself’.”
Chippington was ParalympicsGB’s oldest athlete at Paris 2024, while former swimming teammate Sarah Storey broke the record for most consecutive Games for a Brit as she attended her ninth.
And for Chippington, she believes she could still make it a ninth Games of her own.
“I would love to still be part of this amazing team,” she said. “The Para canoe team is just incredible.
“There is no reason why I can’t give it a go to carry on to LA. Never say no.”
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.
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