Para-canoeist hopes film about her life will inspire others

A woman who overcame a severe leg injury to climb mountains, row across the Atlantic and represent Paralympics GB in canoeing hopes a new film about her life will inspire others.

Kelda Wood was badly hurt in a farming accident in 2002, but went on to set up a company offering outdoor activities for people who have been through life changing mental or physical trauma or illness.

Breaking Waves, which tells the story of Ms Wood, from Shropshire, took five years to make and was premiered in Oswestry on Thursday.

Its creators hope to get it shown in cinemas and on TV.

In 2023, Ms Wood was made an MBE for her services to charity.

She admitted to being nervous over the first showing of the film and joked: "Give me mountains and oceans any day."

But she added: "I think it was easier sitting in there watching it, because you did feel like you were watching someone else."

Sienna Beckman, the co-founder of Emergence Films, was involved in making the film and said: "I just absolutely fell in love with Kelda's story."

She described it as an inspirational journey "that just kept on getting bigger and bigger".

Ms Wood set up the Climbing Out charity to help others and said being outdoors played a huge role in her recovery.

Before her injury, she said her "life always revolved around sport" and she played netball and rode horses at a high level, with hopes of competing at the Olympics in equestrian events.

She said when a bale of hay fell on her in 2002, it had been a blow to her confidence and self-belief, because she was unable to take part in many of the sports she loved.

But she decided to see it as a challenge and retrained as an outdoor instructor and in 2019 became the first solo adaptive rower to cross the Atlantic.

She has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, has been a member of the GB Paracanoe Squad and was the first adaptive woman to reach the summit of Aconcagua.

Speaking about the documentary, Ms Wood said she felt "you kind of lay yourself bare, don't you".

She also said she wanted it to be funny and explained: "I always have a bit of a giggle myself with most things I do and I think when people laugh they engage with things."

She said it was "kind of nice hearing the room laugh when people got the funny bits" at the Oswestry premiere.

Emergence Films said the documentary had been submitted to 12 film festivals and it might also appear on an online streaming platform.

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