The people of North Little Rock organize a send off for Jillian Elwart before she departs for the Paralympic Games in Paris

North Little Rock, Arkansas – As she gets ready for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Jillian Elwart is grateful to her daughter above all else for throwing her a farewell party.

“It’s an honor to proudly wear our colors and represent not only my community but also my country,” Jillian Elwart remarked.

Raising her kid was the first step on her path to the Paralympics.

“You know we are the Natural State—I started canoeing and kayaking recreationally in Arkansas,” Elwart remarked.

Enjoying every aspect of the Natural State and its beautiful waters.

Elwart believed that kayaking would be an excellent means of challenging her physical and mental limits.

The proximal femoral focal deficit is a congenital impairment that Elwart had from birth. She has therefore spent her entire life wearing a prosthetic limb.

Elwart explained, “The Paralympics are for people with physical disabilities; the word para literally means parallel. It’s our adaptation of what you would call able-body sports, but it’s adaptive so we can compete.”

She could now call canoeing her own, and it was something new to learn.

“After raising my daughter, I saw Canoe Sprint as a chance to take care of myself,” Elwart remarked.

Elwart stated, “Since I was falling out of boats and couldn’t even get down a racecourse, she has been involved with this.”

Elwart is thrilled that her daughter is traveling to Paris to support her during her 200-meter flat water canoe sprint competitions.

Elwart remarked, “Here we are, charging headlong into Paris together.”

She claims that she is excited for every stage of the journey to Paris, including the wardrobe fittings, the opening ceremony, and, at last, the competition.

Elwart started competing internationally in 2017 but stepped down to spend more time with her family after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elwart declared, “I’m back and better than ever, and I’m excited to go to Paris in a few weeks.”

Although Elwart’s goal is to place on the podium, she acknowledges that winning the gold would be “spectacular.”

On August 26, Elwart will go for Paris, where he will compete on September 6 and 7.