PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain Dominates Heat, Advances to Final in Tokyo

The U.S. dominated its heat of the PR3 mixed four with coxswain on Friday, winning the first heat by several lengths of open water to advance directly to Sunday's final at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The crew of coxswain Karen Petrik (Glastonbury, Conn./University of Rhode Island), John Tanguay (Pennington, N.J./Columbia University), Charley Nordin (Alameda, Calif./Gonzaga University), Dani Hansen (Patterson, Calif./University of Washington), and Allie Reilly (North Kingstown, R.I./University of Rhode Island) took a length lead over Australia in the opening 500 meters and continued to open up their lead on seemingly every stroke.

"It felt great to finally get to the line," said Petrik.

"I think it went well," said Nordin. "It's a dream come true to have the opportunity to race at the Paralympics. There were a lot of fast crews out there and it was an honor to get to race against them and show our best."

At the midway point, the U.S. held about a length of open water on the Aussies and steadily increased that margin over the final 1,000 meters. At the line, the Americans clocked a 7:19.97 to finish nearly 11 seconds ahead of Australia. With the victory, the U.S., which has won six consecutive silver medals in the event at the world level, advanced to the final where they will try to end Great Britain's gold-medal streak.

That will not be an easy task, however. Like the Americans, the British crew dominated its opening race of the Paralympics, winning the second heat by nearly 17 seconds over France in a 7:09.44.

"It's encouraging to go out and put a good speed down," Nordin said. "We're looking forward to the final. I think we're pretty happy with how things went and just going to stay focused, stay relaxed."

In the second heat 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) jumped out to an early lead in the first 250 meters of the race before falling off the pace and finishing fifth.

"We had a plan to go out early and go to the bridge and see where everyone was sitting," said Gernaat. "We were in the heat with Great Britain, we knew that they're the fastest boat out there."

After getting off the line in second position, Great Britain's Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley quickly took the lead over Ukraine and the U.S. as the crews hit the 500-meter mark. The British crew had open water by the midway point and kept that advantage the rest of the way down the course. Great Britain finished with a time of 8:42.27, more than seven seconds ahead of Ukraine. The U.S. finished with a time of 9:27.00. China won the first heat in an 8:46.15. The U.S. will race against Uzbekistan, France, Ukraine and Italy in the second of two repechages on Saturday, with the top two moving on to the A final.

"We've got a big race tomorrow because we want to try and make the A final and we're looking forward to being able to do that--squeeze our way in there," Gernaat said.

Two-time Paralympian Blake Haxton (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio State University) finished fifth in the second heat of the PR1 men's single sculls and will now race in Saturday's repechage. Great Britain's Benjamin Pritchard sprinted to the lead in the first 100 meters before Ukraine's Roman Polianskyi, the defending world and Paralympic champion, took his spot at the head of the field. Polianskyi methodically extended his advantage the rest of the way down the course, winning by more than 15 seconds. Polianskyi crossed the finish line in a 9:56.47, with Pritchard finishing in a 10:12.24. Haxton clocked a 12:03.03. Brazil's Rene Campos Pereira won the first heat in a 9:57.59. On Saturday, Haxton will race against scullers from Sri Lanka, Russia, Great Britain, and Spain in the second of two repechages, with the top-two finishers advancing to the A final.

"[It's] never a great feeling to wind up fifth in the heat," said Haxton. "We'll be back in the rep tomorrow. So, top to bottom, not a bad day."

In the PR1 women's single sculls, first-time Paralympian Hallie Smith (Washington D.C./Smith College) finished sixth in the first heat and will now race in the repechages on Saturday.

"It was great to compete again after not racing for two years, especially given how difficult the last year and a half has been," Smith said.

With only one sculler advancing to the final, Norway's Birgit Skarstein, the reigning world champion in the event, dominated the race, taking nearly an 11-second lead over France's Nathalie Benoit in the first 500 meters. Skarstein continued to build on her lead the entire way down the course, winning by more than 30 seconds in an 11:11.00. Benoit finished second in an 11:41.75. Smith got off the line in fifth position before dropping to sixth in the second quarter of the race. Smith clocked a 13:42.87. Israel's Moran Samuel won the second heat in an 11:03.52. In tomorrow's first repechage, Smith will take on scullers from Kenya, Germany, France and Brazil and will need a top-two finish to move on to the medal race.

Saturday's repechages will be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com starting at 9:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Friday). Individuals wishing to watch will need to login through their television provider to view the online streaming. Finals will be held Sunday.

Click here for the full schedule on the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 website, and click here for USRowing's Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 coverage page.