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Aug 30, 2024
Team USA
The U.S. PR3 mixed four with coxswain easily won its heat Friday afternoon to advance to the final at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
Racing in the second of two heats, the crew of coxswain Emelie Eldracher (Andover, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College), Alex Flynn (Wilmington, Mass./Tufts University), Gemma Wollenschlaeger (St. Augustine Beach, Fla./Temple University), and Skylar Dahl (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Virginia) took control during the second 500 meters, walking away from the field to win the race by nearly five seconds at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
“It feels pretty exciting,” said Dahl of the heat victory. “It feels like what we wanted to do. We accomplished our goal in the first step of this regatta. Overall, we’re feeling pretty good about it. We have a lot of fun together. We get along really well because we’re all so young. We’re actually friends, too, not just teammates, and I think that makes a big difference. I think that translates onto the water a lot of the time.”
With the top two boats advancing to the final, Australia took an early lead and held a half-second advantage at the 500-meter mark. That’s when the American crew made its move, turning a half-canvas deficit into a length lead at the midway point of the race. The U.S. continued to power away from the rest of the crews, taking more than a boat-length of open water with 500 meters to go. At the line, the American boat clocked a 6:57.18, with France overtaking Australia to claim the other spot in the final. France finished with a time of 7:02.13.
"We didn’t really know what anybody was going to do. We just focused on our race,” Washburne said about Australia’s start. “We had a plan, and I think we stuck to it. They went for it in the beginning. I’m just happy we could execute our plan.”
“I think the call is just, as a boat, we’re unified and ready to go,” said Eldracher about their move in the second 500 meters. “This is a boat that has a unified purpose, and so whether it’s me saying it or not, this boat will go together, and they’ll make that happen every stroke down the course.”
In the first heat, Great Britain, which has won the event 13 years in a row at the world and Paralympic levels, won the race in a world’s best time of 6:43.68. Germany took second place to also advance to the final, finishing in a 6:56.84.
The PR3 mixed double sculls crew of Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y./University of Buffalo/Portland Boat Club) and Saige Harper (Easthampton, Mass./Sacred Heart University) will race in tomorrow’s repechage for a second chance to advance to the final after finishing fourth in its opening race on Friday. Rowing in the first of two heats, Vogt and Harper got off the line in fourth position and raced in fourth the entire way down the course. With only one to advance, Australia’s Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers, the reigning world champions, took the lead on France’s Laurent Cadot and Guylaine Marchand as the boats approached the 500-meter mark and rowed away from the field to earn a spot in the final. The Australian’s clocked a 7:11.30 to win by nearly 13 seconds. France took second in a 7:24.25, with Ukraine finishing third. The U.S. crossed the finish line in a 7:44.38.
“I think we feel like we rowed a clean race and did what we wanted to do, but I think our first 500 was not as aggressive as it could have been, wasn’t as fast as it could have been,” Vogt said. “I think both of us thought that was a good piece, but we need to be more aggressive in the first 750 (meters).”
Germany’s Hermine Krumbein and Jan Helmich won the second heat, finishing with a time of 7:12.07 to claim the other automatic qualifying spot for the finals. Vogt and Harper will race in the first of two repechages on Saturday against boats from France, Egypt, Brazil, and Thailand, with the top two finishers advancing to the medal race.
“I think we had clean execution (today). Tomorrow, we have a chance to make it even cleaner,” Harper said.
Rowing at the Paralympic Games concludes Saturday with finals. Click here for a complete race schedule.
The U.S. has two boats – the PR3 mixed double sculls and PR3 mixed four with coxswain – racing in Paris. All seven athletes are first-time Paralympians.
USRowing would like to thank our national team sponsors including our Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams, Filippi Lido; our Official Apparel Provider, 776BC; our Official Partner, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., our Exclusive Supplement Supplier, Thorne HealthTech; our Official Performance Electronics Outfitter, Nielsen-Kellerman; the National Rowing Foundation; and TrainingPeaks, the Official Training and Coaching Software of USRowing's High Performance Team.
