As victory in elite events often hinge on razor-thin margins, Emma approached the NCC for support towards improving her paracanoe seat.
NCC early career engineers have designed and manufactured an optimised paracanoe seat for Paralympic champion Emma Wiggs MBE.
Using digital tools, including embedded sensor technology, the team reduced material in low-stress areas and increased support where needed. The new seat is lighter, five times stiffer, and enhances power transfer from Emma’s paddle strokes to the boat, boosting her speed over 200 meters – her gold medal winning time at Paris 2024 was just 58.88 seconds.
While focused on sports, the capability to monitor structural health of the paracanoe seat in future Games has broader applications to deliver impact for the UK – be it smarter, more sustainable through-life wind turbines or hydrogen storage solutions.
"*" indicates required fields