'Why I'm so upset': Devastation as Curtis McGrath misses bronze by 0.06 to wrap up Paris 2024 campaign

Australian para-canoe champion Curtis McGrath cut a devastated figure after missing out on bronze in the men's va'a single 200m VL3 by the smallest of margins.

In a photo finish for bronze, New Zealand paddler Peter Cowan's time of 48.28 edged McGrath's by just 0.06 of a second.

Late in the race, McGrath headed off course and had to straighten, causing him to lose precious time as he pushed for the finish line.

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In the lead-in, McGrath acknowledged that the canoeing discipline would be hard with gold medallist, Ukrainian Vladyslav Yepifanov, in career-best form.

Speaking after the crushing defeat, McGrath was overcome as he identified what went wrong.

"It's a pretty blowy day so the conditions were not that fast," he told Nine as he wiped away tears.

"I thought I would have a little bit of an upper hand being able to [switch between] both sides of my boat, but in the end, it was probably my undoing.

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"There were some bumps in the middle, so that caught me off guard.

"The Ukrainian raced so fast and so hard, and he's so well suited to this boat. He's sort of figured it out with a traditional C-boat [canoe] style. That's obviously the fastest way to do it.

"And good on him, he deserves everything he's got, and the same goes for the Brit and the Kiwi [in second and third].

"Jack [Eyers] and Peter pushed so hard, I thought I almost got them in the end, but that last little change in the last 25 metres was my undoing unfortunately."

Having picked up gold in the kayak single 200m KL2 on Saturday, McGrath explained why this result had him so emotional.

"I was quite confident in the kayak, it's the one that I favour," he said.

"It's better on my body which I think is why I'm so upset. This is the last race I'll ever do in that V1, so I wanted to come away with something, but not today.

"The pressure, it's heavy, but at the same time, that's racing."

In July, McGrath and his wife Rachel welcomed their first child.

Their baby boy, Monty, required an emergency operation when he was born to treat a heart condition called transposition of the great arteries (TGA).

To allow Monty to recover, Rachel did not travel to Paris.

Speaking to Nine after McGrath wrapped up his Paralympic campaign, Rachel was overjoyed at her husband's achievements but keen to have him home soon.

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"It's been a huge week of competition and watching Curt race," she said.

"Lots of highs — seeing him win yesterday — and really excited now to get him home next week and congratulate him in person.

"It's been really special to share the moments watching him while holding Monty. I know he's just a tiny, little baby, but I hope in years to come he'll be able to look back and be so proud of his dad for going over and achieving what he has."