‘Bolt warmed as much as reggae – however I’m Paralympian overrated by Barbra Streisand’

Barbra Streisand doesn’t characteristic on many pump-up playlists for elite athletes.

Usain Bolt warmed as much as reggae, LeBron James will get hyped to hip-hop, but it surely’s musicals which assist put together Paralympic champion Charlotte Henshaw for her show-stopping performances. Henshaw, 37, is about to compete in her fifth Games this summer time and sampling the Parisian arts is prime of her vacationer itinerary.

“I love the theatre, it’s a big passion of mine,” she mentioned. “I love musical theatre, always have since I was a kid and it’s a real escape. I’m a very emotional person when it comes to listening to music, it’s really emotive for me, so to go to a completely different place where I don’t think about anything to do with sport is one of my big passions.

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“I try to get down to the West End as much as I can, see a few shows and it kind of resets me. Quite often my playlist before a race will be musical theatre because it makes me happy, and I want to be in the happiest place that I possibly can be before I go out and race.”

Firstly, as a swimmer and latterly as a paracanoeist, Henshaw’s athlete profession has spanned almost 20 years and made for a really structured life. Hours and hours of observe are finally outlined by the ultimate efficiency – it’s an exhausting existence which actors, if anybody, can relate to.

“In a way, they’re athletes too,” mentioned Henshaw. “The people that do these shows have to be extremely talented and have that discipline. I think musical theatre performers are wildly underrated. I feel very lucky that it’s something that I’m able to do when I’ve got the time.”

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Henshaw’s ardour is just not solely reserved for her travels to Theatreland. Sore throats are an occupational hazard for athletes pushing themselves to their limits, however Henshaw’s coaches have learnt to assume twice when she claims to really feel run down.

“I’m quite often singing along to Barbra Streisand in my car,” she mentioned. “It’s not anything modern, usually it’s theatre songs and I’ve definitely turned up to training with a sore throat once or twice when I’ve been going too hard in the traffic having a singsong.”

Henshaw made the change to paracanoe in 2017 and after successful gold in Tokyo insists the second act of her profession has solely simply begun. With a medal in every color from her final three Games, the Mansfield-born star wished a contemporary perspective for Paris, and it arrived within the type of new coach Hannah Brown.

“I achieved my ultimate goal, which was to be Paralympic champion, but I knew I wasn’t ready to retire,” she mentioned.

“So, the conversation was, how do we keep it exciting and fresh when you know you’ve already achieved what you wanted to do? Hannah took us on as a training group at the beginning of 2022. She is a former athlete herself, former kayaker and competed at a World Championships.

“She’s still young, so it’s very recent for her that she’s been an athlete. She’s got some really cool ideas for training and that’s changed it up without us having to try and seek it. I think that’s really helped. It’s given us a new lease of life and energy about how we can make the boats faster and that’s been really exciting.”

The previews counsel Henshaw will show successful in Paris, with World and European golds claimed on this cycle. And because of the help of The National Lottery, Henshaw can prepare every day in her pursuit of stardom.

“National Lottery funding has been instrumental to the success of British elite sport, especially for Olympic and Paralympic sport,” she added.

“It means we can really focus on what we’re doing every single day and I think the results speak for themselves. I’m always grateful to the National Lottery and Lottery players, we couldn’t do it without them.”

National Lottery gamers elevate greater than £30million per week for good causes together with very important funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make superb occur at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen