PR3 Women’s Pair Races at Gavirate International Para Regatta

The PR3 women's pair of Serafina King (Los Angeles, Calif./University of Oklahoma) and Allie Reilly (North Kingstown, R.I./University of Rhode Island) got the chance to race four times this weekend at the International Para Rowing Regatta 2021 in Gavirate, Italy.

Reilly and King are both part of the selection camp for the PR3 mixed four with coxswain that will represent the U.S. at the 2020 Paralympic Games. With a heat on Friday, a first final and second heat on Saturday, and a second final on Sunday, the duo was able to get four trips down the course to work on everything from race prep to execution.

"It was great to be back on the water for Team USA again," said Reilly, a two-time world championships' silver medalist in the PR3 mixed four. "Rowing at an international regatta takes an extra level of focus and concentration, so it was great to be able to practice that ahead of selection and the rest of the summer. Things overall went very well. We approached each race as an opportunity to improve and were glad to have four chances to sit on the line. For the weeks moving forward, it is going to be important to stay as healthy and focused as possible to get to the end goal of Tokyo."

For King, a newcomer to the para rowing national team process, the regatta was her first opportunity to race internationally and also provided her the chance to meet FISA and Paralympic requirements to be eligible to race in Tokyo.

"Things went really well," King said. "With each 2k, I got more confident in my abilities and was able to hone my technical skills for small boats. I saw improvements in our boat speed and focus throughout the week. Racing against the men definitely pushed us on the technical side of the stroke in order to make up for the difference in muscle."

Previously a para swimmer, King started rowing in January of 2018, earning a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma later that winter.

"I won't lie and say it isn't nerve-wracking," King said. "As someone that's so new to this sport, I feel like I'm learning more about it every day. It's easy to second-guess my abilities when I'm going up against some amazing rowers during selection. With being so new to this sport, it does give me a great opportunity to mold my stroke more easily to the stroke that the coaches are looking for. What I lack in experience, I try to make up for in my enthusiasm and drive. I take each stroke with a fire lit beneath me.

"Racing in my first international regatta was an amazing experience. Not only have I never been to Italy, even though my family immigrated from here, I haven't raced internationally since I was a swimmer back in 2017. I love the culturally rich aspect of racing internationally. It was even interesting experiencing the differences in the start of the race. In collegiate rowing, they make different calls."

Click here for results from this weekend's racing.

The U.S. has won six consecutive silver medals in the PR3 mixed four event at the world level including the 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil. This year's Paralympic boat will be named by June 18.

"I'm just trying to stay present and enjoy each moment," King said. "This is an incredible experience that I get to share with some incredible athletes. No matter what happens, I want to look back fondly at the memories leading up to the naming date, rather than just remembering stress and anxiety. I'm happy to be a part of all of this and happy that I was even selected for the selection camp."

The U.S. qualified all four Paralympic boats for Tokyo. The other three boats were selected at the 2020 U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials – Rowing in April. Click here for the current Paralympic roster.

The Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 are scheduled to take place August 24-September 5, with para rowing events starting August 27.