- ParaGB aims to extend Paralympic rowing success
- Diverse team includes cancer survivor, Invictus competitor
- PR2 and PR3 crews targeting medals in Paris
Great Britain’s para-rowers are ready to follow in the footsteps of the Olympic rowing team’s spectacular exploits in Paris, thrilling us with their stories on and off the water. ParaGB has won gold medals at every Paralympic Games since rowing was added to the program in Beijing in 2008, and they are eager to build on that success and take it even further.
A close-knit group of ten para-athletes will compete in four events, each with the potential to earn medals and great personal stories. One team hopes to extend a historical record, while another will compete in a new event on the agenda. They include a coffee specialist, a cancer campaigner, and a previous Invictus competitor, two of whom have become parents in the last 18 months.
The PR3 mixed coxed four consists of Giedre Rakauskaite, Frankie Allen, Ed Fuller, and Josh O’Brien. Erin Kennedy coxes them and hopes to extend Great Britain’s incredible 13-year winning record in the event. Along with their instructors, the crew has managed to turn the pressure of this record into a constructive drive, continually aiming to improve their world’s best time. Rakauskaite sees the unbroken legacy as a pleasure.
This year, O’Brien raced into the crew, while Kennedy and Rakauskaite won gold in Tokyo. Kennedy is a knowledgeable coxswain who is always aware of what the crew needs to focus on throughout training and racing. She publicly recounted the ups and downs of her struggle, and despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2022, she continued to compete while undergoing chemotherapy, winning the 2022 European Championships.
After a brief hiatus for a double mastectomy and 15 rounds of chemotherapy, Kennedy returned to win the 2023 European Championships precisely one year after being diagnosed with cancer. She actively promotes women’s breast health.
The results show that the crew will continue to dominate in Paris. When they line up for the final next Sunday, Rakauskaite will have some emotional memories because it is the anniversary of the vehicle accident that injured her as a youngster and resulted in her Paralympic classification. Every time these athletes race so much is at stake for them and their families.
The PR3 mixed double sculls is a new event, and Sam Murray and Annie Caddick are learning quickly. They have raced successfully throughout the season, winning bronze at the European Championships. This event has had some incredibly tight finishes, so expect a race to the finish line.
Lauren Rowles, a double Paralympic champion, and Gregg Stevenson, a former Royal Engineers commando, will compete in the PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 rowing involves only the trunk and arms). Stevenson suffered a catastrophic accident in Afghanistan in 2009, requiring a double leg amputation. He made his Paralympic debut, fulfilling a desire that began when he tested out for the Invictus Games in 2018. His impressive rowing machine scores prompted recommendations to aim for the Paralympics.
Initially aiming for Tokyo, surgery caused him to take a step back, and he believed his opportunity had passed. However, when Rowles’ previous doubles partner, Laurence Whiteley, retired in 2022, Rowles called Stevenson to see if he would be interested in trialing for Paris. They won gold at the 2023 World Championships in a world-best time and haven’t lost since. Outside of rowing, Stevenson studies psychology and uses his experiences to help others as a mental health practitioner for the NHS’s veteran-specific service, Op Courage.
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Rowles aims for her third consecutive Paralympic gold medal on the next leg of her incredible journey. She woke up as a 13-year-old paralyzed from the waist down from transverse myelitis. Inspired by the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Rowles began wheelchair track racing the following year. She switched to rowing in 2015 and won the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
She is a genuine champion for greater inclusiveness in sports, and she says her partner and wheelchair basketball Paralympian, Jude Hamer, gave birth to their baby this year, providing an even more significant motivation source for Paris.
One of the rowing team’s most famous members is Ben Pritchard, who competes in the PR1 men’s single sculls. A patriotic Welshman who grew up as an eager young sailor and triathlete, his life was turned upside down when he was 24 years old in an accident that left him wheelchair-bound.
Finding rowing and a sporting challenge through the Paralympics changed his life. He is a specialty coffee expert who has spent time developing his roasting and blending talents in addition to daily training. Pritchard finished fifth in Tokyo and will face experienced competitors. He has moved up to bronze in the world championships in 2022 and 2023, and he earned his first international gold medal in the last World Cup event before Paris, so he is determined to make the podium.
Watching their Olympic teammates navigate finishing positions separated by less than a blink of an eye will have honed the final preparations of the British para-rowing teams. Expect more inspiration, heart-stopping finishes, and emotional moments from this incredible group.
