Scary moment

Paralyzed kayak athlete capsizes after gold ride

Katherinne Wollermann capsized at the finish line.(Bild: AFP/APA/OIS/IOC/Joel MARKLUND, Youtube/paralympics)

A moment of shock for kayak athlete Katherinne Wollermann. The Chilean athlete rowed to the gold medal in the KL1 class in the single kayak over 200 meters on Sunday. Immediately after the finish line, however, the paraplegic athlete capsized - rescue workers had to help the winner out of the water.

In 51.95 seconds, Wollermann was able to beat Ukraine's Maryna Maschula and Germany's Edina Müller, crossing the finish line with a commanding lead. However, in the subsequent attempt to stop her boat, the 32-year-old lost her balance and fell over the right side into the water - not without danger as a paraplegic athlete ...

Thank goodness the rowers are always accompanied by a lifeboat during competitions, and within seconds Wollermann had her head above water again - and was grinning like a Paralympics winner ...