Assessing performance and shoulder strength in a para canoe athlete with spinal cord injury: a case report compared to paddlers without disabilities

Introduction: Para Canoe in outrigger canoeing (OC) has recently gained visibility in adaptive sports, yet scientific comparisons with non-disabled athletes remain scarce. Understanding Para athletes’ performance and shoulder torque profiles is essential to guide individualized training and support evidence-based classification systems. Objective: To compare the 1.000 m time-trial performance and isokinetic shoulder torque between a Para Canoe athlete with spinal cord injury and OC paddlers without disabilities. Methods: Twenty-two male OC paddlers without disabilities (age: 40.91 ± 11.30 years; training experience: 4.90 ± 3.14 years; weekly training: 6.18 ± 2.94 h) and one experienced Para athlete (35 years; weekly training: 4 h) completed two assessments. Shoulder internal/external rotator torque was measured at 60°/s using an isokinetic dynamometer on the first visit. In another session, a 1.000 m time-trial was performed using an adapted ergometer and performance was defined as completion time. The group coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated to contextualize the Para athlete’s data. Results: Athletes without disabilities completed the trial in 298.31 ± 13.75 s (CV: 4.61%), while the Para athlete took 360.9 s — approximately 4.55 CVs above the mean. Shoulder peak torque values for paddlers without disabilities were 34.91 ± 6.29 N.m (external; CV: 18.02%) and 51.99 ± 9.71 N.m (internal; CV: 18.68%). The Para athlete scored 21.81 N.m and 33.13 N.m, respectively — over 1.9 CVs below the group mean. Conclusion: The athlete with physical impairment exhibited substantially lower shoulder torque and longer time-trial duration. These findings underscore the importance of individualized benchmarks in OC Para Canoe, with implications for performance evaluation, classification, and future research in adaptive sports.