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Paralympian Profile

Peter Cowan #231

Peter Cowan sits in his kayak after competing in the Men's Va'a Single 200m VL3 Final at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. He wears a white long sleeve competition shirt with NZ Paralympic Team branding.

Para athlete Peter Cowan competes in an adaptive version of waka ama, known internationally as Para va’a, which is a division of Para canoe at the Paralympic Games.

Peter competes in the VL3 classification.

Attitude’s documentary on Peter. Check out more great Attitude documentaries.

Aged 15, Peter was training on his bike for the IronMāori triathlon when he was clipped by an oncoming car. After the serious accident, Peter later made the difficult decision to amputate his injured leg. In his last year of high school, he discovered paddling and soon fell in love with the sport.

Peter won two golds and a silver in the World Waka Ama Championships, and also placed fourth in the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. At the 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Para Canoe World Championships, Peter placed 8th in the VL3 event.

In the 2023 World Championships in Germany, Peter showed his potential to be at the pointy end of the field, finishing 9th in his VL3 200m event in one of the tightest finals of the competition. 

Peter is a member of Haeata Ocean Sports Inc. and Hawkes Bay Kayak Racing Club.

In May 2024, Peter achieved a silver medal in the va’a at the ICF Paracanoe World Championships in Szeged – a remarkable milestone in his paddling career. In the thrilling VL3 200m final, Cowan finished just 0.071 seconds behind Ukraine’s Vladyslav Yepifanov. 

In June 2024, Peter was selected to the NZ Paralympic Team headed to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Paralympic Results
Paralympic GamesResult
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
  • Bronze - Men's VL3 200m

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    Profile

    • home icon

      Hometown: Hastings

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      Born: 22 June 1995

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      Iwi: Ngāti Kahungunu

    • flag icon

      Ethnicity: Samoan

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      Eligible Impairment: limb deficiency

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      Health Condition: above knee amputee

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      Coach: Myka Nuku

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      Classification: VL3

    • calendar icon

      Games Year: Paris 2024

    • medal icon

      Medals Won: 1 Bronze

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      Para Sport: Para canoe

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