VAIRES-SUR-MARNE, France – Jillian Elwart felt instability in her right thigh. As she paddled forward, screws came loose from her strap that engages the amputated side of her body, and she fell behind.

It was the biggest race of her life, but she soldiered on.

“It’s all part of it,” she said. “Things wear and tear, and I think the important thing is just to know that no matter what, I’m going to do the best that I can with whatever conditions I’m given.”

In her Paralympic debut, she finished sixth out of six in her VL3 200m heat, 4.61 seconds behind first place. On Saturday, she’ll have a chance to avenge the loss, racing in the semifinals.

Elwart, a 41-year-old Arkansan, was born with a congenital right hand deformity and had her right leg amputated soon after birth. Before her disability took her around the world through para canoe, it drove her to work in the field of pediatric prosthetics.

She didn’t pick up para canoe until her mid-30’s, but it has given her another outlet and another community.

“I like the feeling of being on the water,” she said. “It’s very liberating and it’s fun to move without any adaptations. Like with running, obviously with a prosthetic leg it’s not quite as graceful as with two legs. I feel there’s tremendous amount of beauty and grace on the water.”

Before the horn sounded to start the race, Elwart was once again reminded why she loved para canoe so much.

“We’ve got such a great community in the sport,” she said. “Before the race, we’re chit-chatting and checking in with each other. Before we even get on the water, we’re making sure that everbody’s ready and we’re all pumping each other up.”

Then, as the sprint started and the equipment failed her, she watched as the other racers marched in front of her. The roar of her family in the crowd, and thousands of other spectators fueled her as she finished the race.

“Words can’t describe it,” Elwart said. “This is my first Paralympic Games, so it’s extra special.

After her first Paralympic race, she came to the dock and sat on the edge of the water for a few minutes. She then went right back onto her canoe, and started paddling.

However, it wasn’t to take in the view.

“I was rethinking the race through my mind,” she said. “I’m visualizing it from my perspective. What I could have done, what I should have done, what I did really well.”

Before she returns home to her patients with another inspirational story to tell, she still has the chance to medal. On Saturday, she competes in the semifinals, and should she finish in her heat’s top three, she will earn a spot in Final A, the medal round. If not, she is placed into Final B.

“Today is going to be rest and relaxation,” Elwart said of her plans before the semifinal. “I’ll make sure that I eat well because that was a big focus yesterday. I’ll probably do a little more aggressive warm-up than I did today.”

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The other Team USA para canoe athlete, Blake Haxton, is not a Paralympic rookie.

Competing in the men’s VL2 200m race, Haxton finished second in his heat just 1.4 seconds behind Brazil’s Igor Alex Tofalini.

“You can’t play defense in canoe,” he said. “You can only row in your lane.”

Three years on from Tokyo 2020, where he won silver, the Columbus native still has work to do in order to get into the medal round.

“(I executed at a) B or a B+ today,” Haxton said. “I probably didn’t pace it right, but had a really good start. So, things to improve on…. I’d like to be a little cleaner, spread out the effort a little more, a little sharper at the finish.”

His semifinal will be on Sunday morning, needing to finish top three (of five racers) to clinch a spot in the final.