Va'a va voom: Fran Bateman is Wales' para-canoe star

When Frances Bateman suffered a life-changing rugby injury while playing for Gwynyfed Ladies in 2011 she thought she would never be able to paddle again.

Fast forward four years and Bateman is picking up Va'a silver medals at the World Championships in Milan and now has her sights set firmly on Tokyo 2020 Paralympic glory.

The Va'a is a form of outrigger canoe, with its origins born out of races mostly between fishermen, families and small Polynesian and Melanesian villages. The modern version of Va'a as a sport was developed in Tahiti and Hawaii.

Sport Wales caught up with Fran as she paddled along the beautiful banks of the Brecon Canal to find out more about her story.

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