Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 Recap

Four Team USA crews took to Sea Forest Waterway to compete at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. The U.S. alongside Brazil and Ukraine were the only nations to qualify all boat classes and send a full squad to the Games. After a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the crews put their five years of training on the line and the U.S. came away with one medal.

Though this year's squad had just three returning Paralympians, the lineups stayed nearly identical to the 2019 World Rowing Championships'. The only changes were in the seatings of the PR3 mixed four with coxswain.

Record times were set left and right during the three days of competition. The PR3 Mixed 4+ of Karen Petrik (Glastonbury, Conn./University of Rhode Island), Dani Hansen (Patterson, Calif./University of Washington), John Tanguay (Pennington, N.J./Columbia University), Charley Nordin (Alameda, Calif./Gonzaga University) and Allie Reilly (North Kingstown, R.I./University of Rhode Island) set a new Paralympic best time during its first race down the course. The four went 7:19.97 in the first heat, then, in the second heat, Great Britain crossed the line in 7:09.44 to best the American's record. The world best time in this event—6:49.24—was set by Great Britain at the 2019 World Rowing Championships.

tokyo 2020 Paralympics Petrik Hansen Reilly Tanguay Nordin

The battle between the U.S. and Great Britain continued to the finals, as the two crews established early leads in the race for medals. Great Britain defended its gold medal, finishing about 11 seconds ahead of the U.S., which took silver for the second Games in a row.

"It feels good," said two-time Paralympian Dani Hansen. "It's an accomplishment to bring back a medal for the U.S. We're really pumped, we put a lot into this. The one thing you can do when you come here, despite the past, is put everything you can on the water and if you're capable of doing that you feel proud of yourself. I think all of us did that today and I'm really proud of us as a team. I think we did really well."

The three remaining U.S. crews all finished off their Games taking 10th overall.Blake Haxton tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Two-time Paralympian Blake Haxton (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio State University) was Team USA's only two-sport athlete at the Paralympics, as he competed in canoe sprint the week following rowing. After finishing fourth in the PR1 men's single B final, Haxton came back strong for canoe, clinching a silver medal for the U.S. in the men's Va'a single 200-meter.

In the PR1 M1x A final, Ukraine's Roman Polanski came away with his second Paralympic gold medal, clocking 9:48.78. In the B final, Russia's Aleksey Chuvashev and Germany's Marcus Klemp battled each other at the head of the field for the majority of the race. Chuvashev pulled ahead to win the B final in 10:26.99, while Haxton sat in fourth at each of the 500-meter splits, finishing with a time of 11:40.29.

Hallie Smith tokyo 2020 ParalympicsIn the PR1 women's single sculls, first-time Paralympian and four-time national teamer Hallie Smith (Washington D.C./Smith College) also finished fourth in the B final. Smith got off the line strongly, sitting in third position at the first timing mark but dropped to fourth in the second quarter of the race. Korea's Sejeong Kim won the race in 12:18.83, cruising to nearly a one-minute victory over second place. Smith clocked a 13:55.87.

In the B final of the PR2 mixed double sculls, first-time Paralympian Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif.) and two-time Paralympian Laura Goodkind (Los Angeles, Calif./Whittier College) also finished fourth for a 10th-place finish overall. Australia won the race in an 8:56.69, while the U.S. finished with a time of 9:11.63.

Though the U.S. double had hoped for better results, they were happy with their overall performance. tokyo 2020 Paralympics Goodkind Gernaat Their training helped them close the gap on crews that beat them at previous championships and they look forward to seeing how they improve in years to come.

"It's a packed field, a lot of competition," said Gernaat. "Brazil and Australia beat us by like 20 seconds [at the 2019 world championships], but not today. We've really closed that gap. So I feel good about our racing overall, we've come a long way and still looking for more improvement. I definitely want to go to France [for the 2024 Paralympic Games] and see if we can put a bid in for a medal."

As the focus turns towards Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028, USRowing is continuing an in-depth examination of the national team programs that started late last year.

"With all that the US and other countries have been through over the last year and a half, we feel incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish as a squad," said USRowing Director of Para High Performance Ellen Minzner. "The field is getting stronger every year and solidifying our position as a consistent podium contender in the PR3 4+ was a big accomplishment, especially in a field that knocked 2016 bronze medalist Canada to the B final, and included a seasoned French crew that won the Gavirate Para Regatta earlier this year. We now have the opportunity to set out long-term goals on 2024 and 2028, and are excited to get to work."

Click here for USRowing's Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 coverage page for complete results, photos, athlete bios, flash quotes and more.

Could you qualify for the Paralympic Games in 2024 or 2028? Contact USRowing Para High Performance Director Ellen Minzner at ellen.minzner@usrowing.org for more information on classification and selection. Click here for more information on the Para National Team.