Charlotte Henshaw MBE is one of the world's leading paracanoe athletes with 3 Paralympic gold medals and 11 World Championship titles. Previously competing in swimming, she has also won a silver and bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. As a four-time Paralympian across two different sports, Charlotte is a powerful voice in the sporting world and beyond.
After having both legs amputated at 15 months old, Charlotte began swimming at age 4 and joined a swimming club at 12 years old. She first represented Great Britain when she was 16 years old at the Danish Open. Whilst studying a degree in Psychology and Sports Studies at the University of Stirling, she was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, where she came 4th. In 2009, she competed in her first World Cup and European Championships, where she won two gold medals. Building on her success in the sport, she won a silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Shortly after, she announced her retirement from swimming to compete in canoeing. At her first Paracanoe European Championships, she won a silver medal. Charlotte competed in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020 and won a gold medal. In the following Paralympic Games in Paris, she competed in two paracanoe events and won two gold medals.
Recognising her success in canoeing, Charlotte was awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours. She is currently the world-leading time holder for the KL2 200m event in paracanoeing, which she set in 2019 and was internationally undefeated in the event for the season. During her time competing in swimming, she broke the world record twice in a year and set a new European record. Charlotte is also a member of various sporting groups, including the British Paralympic Association, British Canoeing and European Canoe Association.
Charlotte is the ideal motivational speaker for a variety of events, speaking on diversity and inclusion, overcoming adversity and peak performance. Outside of sport, she is a keen advocate for women’s health and works with charities to raise awareness of issues. An inspirational figure, hire Charlotte today to hear about her remarkable sporting success.
- 2025 – Won gold medal at World Championships
- 2024 – Won two gold medals at Paris Paralympic Games
- 2020 – Won gold medal at Tokyo Paralympic Games
- 2018 – Won first gold medal at World Championships in Paracanoe
- 2017 – Won first medal for Paracanoe at European Championships
- 2017 – Announced retirement from swimming
- 2016 – Won bronze medal for swimming at Rio Paralympic Games
- 2015 – Set new European record at World Championships
- 2012 – Won silver medal for swimming at London Paralympic Games
- 2010 – Set new world records at World Championships events
- 2009 – Won first gold medal at World Championships in Swimming
- 2009 – Graduated from University of Stirling with degree in Psychology & Sports Studies
- 2008 – Selected to represent Great Britain at Beijing Paralympic Games, placing 4th
How to hire Charlotte Henshaw
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Charlotte Henshaw for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
