As it Happened: Three Golds and a Silver for ParalympicsGB
Lauren Lethbridge reporting from The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium for Ability Today at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Rowing Finals.
11.30 CET:
The PR1 Men’s Single Sculls Paralympic Final
The men’s single sculls kick off Today’s rowing finals for Great Britain, with fastest qualifier Ben Pritchard (32) in Lane 4. He set a new Paralympic Record in the heats, covering 2,000m in 8:51.26 seconds. There’s a bit of a headwind today so we can expect a slightly slower finals race.
Also in the line up is reigning Paralympic Champion Roman Polianskyi of Ukraine (38), who is seeking three back-to-back gold medals in this event.
Another medal hopeful is silver World Championship medallist Giacomo Perini (28) from Italy, who qualified through the repêchage after losing to Pritchard in the heats.
Pritchard has a slower start, but soon pulls ahead as the fastest moving sculler on the water. At the half-way point, Great Britain, Italy and Ukraine are clear of the rest of the field.
Pritchard seizes the moment and takes the lead with 500m remaining and is clear of the field with 10 strokes to.
He crosses the finish line at a time of 9:03.84 for the GOLD MEDAL, ahead of the Italian rower Perini in second place. Roman Rolianskyi comes in third for Ukraine.
The podium is unconfirmed however as an inquiry is swiftly raised.
Giacomo Perini of Italy is found to have been using a communication device during the race and is disqualified.
Rolianskyi moves up into the silver medal position and the bronze is re-directed to Australia’s Erik Horrie (44).
Speaking to reporters after the race, Pritchard spoke about overcoming a cycle ravaged by injury to win the gold. He had a cyst and break in his wrist, requiring two surgeries and a bone graft during 2023.
“Last year I only had 12 weeks of consistent training, so it was a big push to get here. But we’ve had a pretty consistent season and it’s been all about today and the process. It came off and I’ve got a gold medal on my lap. Yeah, I’m pretty happy.”
Injury aside, he’s had to make huge progress to move from a 5th place finish in Tokyo to become Paralympic Champion today:
“When I came back from Tokyo, I was ready to give it up. I asked British Rowing, what is it? Because in the other boats, we’re unbeaten for 14 years plus and in the PR2, we’re double Paralympic champions and now triple Paralympic champions, which is epic.
“So, what was it about the PR1 field? Why haven’t we had a gold medal since 2011?”
“We had a big think about it. We looked at our boat weight, we’ve created a new seat and I’ve dropped 20 kilos in body mass. There’s been a huge project around this, and it’s culminated into success today.”
11.50 CET:
PR2 Mixed Double Sculls
Lauren Rowles (29) returns to defend her Paralympic title once again, this time with a new partner in former Royal Engineer Commando Grass Stevenson (36).
The British pair set a new World and Paralympic record of 7:56.92 in the heats, becoming the first ever crew to row sub 8 minutes.
China are leading Great Britain early in the race at 300m in. Lanes 1-4 are about 3 boat lengths ahead of the rest of the field.
Rowles is going for her third consecutive gold medal with new partner Stevenson, who she paired up with in 2022 after her previous partner Laurence Whiteley retired. Rowles found golden success with Whiteley in Rio and Tokyo. A third is unprecedented.
At 700m in China are about a length ahead of Great Britain, who are also under pressure from Israel. France sit in 4th place.
China are still ahead at the hallways point. The brit-heavy crowd is waiting for the duo to make their move.
Rowles and Stevenson pick up the pace to 37 strokes per minute but China match them and it’s all to play for with just over 750 metres to go. Israel look set for the bronze.
China still lead with just 250m to go but Great Britain putt in a final charge, timed to perfection.
A nail-biting finish but it’s Gold number two for Great Britain and a historic third Paralympic gold for Lauren Rowles.
China earn the Silver and Israel take the bronze.
After their medal ceremony Lauren and Gregg spoke on their triumph. Lauren said:
“It’s amazing, this is definitely the best one yet. To do it a third time in a row, nobody’s ever done this before. History made today, that’s what we came out here to do and Paralympic Champions, yeah it feels really good.”
“I said to Greg in our pre-race brief yesterday, ‘Whatever this the medal is, whatever the result is on the day when we cross that finish line, I’ve had the best time in the world’.”
On their unusually late move into the lead, Gregg said:
It’s not usually the way we do it; we usually try and take care of it in the thousand meter, that’s usually our strength. So yeah, it was a different style. But you know, we’ve got to race to the last stroke.
“I was really impressed with China. What a row! What a row!”
12.10 CET:
PR3 Mixed Double Sculls
Paralympic debutants Annabel Caddick (25) and Samuel Murray (33) race for Great Britain in lane 5. The came into this race via repêchage so have an extra race behind them.
Australia lead the race from the off, with Britain and Germany behind. Brazil, Ukraine and France complete the race.
GBR are putting pressure on the Australians at the half-way mark and its neck and neck.
But Australia respond to the charge, leaving clear water between them and the British pair. Germany are back in bronze.
The battle for gold or silver heats up in the last quarter distance. Germany are slipping out of podium contention.
Australia set a new Paralympic Record of of 7:11.30 and it looks like they’ll continue to dominate but not without Britain pushing them all the way.
250m to go Australia pull away to take the gold, leaving Britain and Germany to fight for the silver. It’s a photo finish but Caddick and Murray take silver just 0.12 of a second ahead of Germany in bronze.
After stealing the silver and a third medal for Great Britain, Annie said:
“It was such a tight race, it was so exciting. Normally there’s a bit where you like settle, I felt like we just didn’t settle. We just had to keep pushing. At the end Sam was like, ‘We’ve got to go, we’ve got to go.’ And suddenly I just felt like a surge from Sam. I was like, ‘I’ve just got to hold on and go with him.”
Sam left rowing in 2017 after missing out on selection for Rio and only returned to the sport last year:
It just wasn’t even on my horizon, to be honest. I left rowing, was quite content with where I got to. It was only the start of 2023 season where I came and met Annie and it was like OK, we could make a crack of this.
On the post-race celebration plans Sam said:
“It’s going to be pretty crazy. All the family are here and there’s banners everywhere. So, yeah, I think we’re going to probably have a late night.”
12.36 CET:
The final race and medals of Paris 2024 Paralympic regatta is the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four with Edward Fuller (21), Giedre Rakauskaite (33), Joshua O’Brien (22), Frankie Allen (22) and coxswain Erin Kennedy (32) going for Great Britain.
Great Britain in lane 4 are the defending champions from Tokyo and have two returning members. They set a new World and Paralympic record in the heats with a time of 6:43.68 seconds.
Italy, France, The USA, Germany and Australia complete the teams.
GBR take and early lead with a stroke rate of 40, but there’s just half a length between all the crews.
Defending Champions GBR lead with USA in silver and France sitting in third.
GBR begin to pull away and the home crowd are going wild for France as they move towards the stand on the home straight
At the half-way point Britain retain the lead with the USA behind them, followed by Germany and then France.
Experience Cox Erin Kennedy is steering the crew home and they’re still at 38 stroke rate. The fastest boat on the water, pulling clear of the field.
France edge into third and 500m to go Great Britain have clear water behind them. The USA are charging for gold contention but it seems unlikely.
Great Britain are set to extend their 14 year streak. They take yet another gold, crossing the finish line at 6:55.30, with USA earning silver. France narrowly steals the bronze on the line, just 0:00.06 ahead of Germany.
The crew consists of two returning Champions from Tokyo (Kennedy and Rakauskaite) and three Paralympic debutantes. Newcomer Joshua O’brien said:
“I took my first stroke in a boat in the same cycle as I’ve won gold. I only started rowing two and a half years ago at uni, so to come here is pretty surreal.”
Youngest member of the crew Ed said that the race is merely where they collect the medal earned in training:
“We did all the work and training, and sometimes it’s just finishing off in racing. We knew we had it within this crew’s capabilities. And to actually have the medal is incredibly special.”
The win proved incredibly cathartic for experienced crew-member Giedre Rakauskaite, as it falls on the date the acquired her disability:
“18 years ago today, I was in a car accident that has led me to being a Paralympic athlete. It is an anniversary I’m going to celebrate now with a gold medal. So I’ve turned it around. Every year this is going to be a golden moment, no longer a car accident.”
For Cox Erin too, the win provides balm following a tumultuous cycle after her diagnosis with breast cancer is 2022 and subsequent treatment.
“I’ve sort of been seeing today as the end of a chapter of my life that I didn’t really want to start.”
“Rowing has been the constant for me. I had 15 rounds of chemo and a double mastectomy, rowing always provided the goal. I pass a lot of the credit on to my teammates because they allowed me to race with them while I was on chemo, which maybe was a little bit nuts. Without them, you know, I think the belief in myself might have run out at, but they never let it happen.”
Frankie Allen summed up the mood of the team:
“It is just an honour to be part of a boat that’s been successful for so long. We’ve got the target on our back and every race we go to, we are the ones that people have got their eyes on to beat. But I think we deal with that really well and we sort of thrive off that.”
“We really respect all of our other crews as well. They’re the ones pushing us and we’re constantly pushing ourselves. So we’re all making each other better, which is just amazing.”
Three golds and one silver for Great Britain from four finals. It’s the most successful rowing result in British Paralympic history. They’ve also set two new World Records and three new Paralympic records in the course of this Paris Games. A regatta for the record books.
By Lauren Lethbridge, ADJ Diploma Student