The U.S. PR3 mixed double sculls finished third in its repechage Saturday morning and will now race in the rowing B final at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
With two to advance to the medal race, the U.S. crew of Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y./University of Buffalo/Portland Boat Club) and Saige Harper (Easthampton, Mass./Sacred Heart University) got off the line in third position behind Brazil and France but was unable to stay with the leading crews and challenge for a spot in the A final.
“I think it’s incredible how many fast crews are out there, and this being the first Paralympics with this (boat) category, it’s so exciting to see so many fast crews and to be in the mix with them,” Harper said. “That was a really gutsy, gritty race. We tried to just put it all out there, and obviously (we) didn’t come up with the result that we wanted, but we’re just going to shift our goal for tomorrow.”
France took the lead off the line, but Brazil was able to move into the top spot as the boats rowed towards the 500-meter mark. The top two crews stayed in contact through the midway point of the race before Brazil began to extend its advantage in the third 500 meters. Brazil continued to pull away from the host country during the final sprint, winning by 8.66 seconds in a 7:24.24. France finished second in a 7:32.90, with the American boat clocking a 7:50.99.
“The depth of the double – there’s a lot of competitive teams there. It’s impressive,” said Vogt, who is celebrating his 50th birthday today. “I should say congratulations to France and Brazil for throwing down a really fast race. We didn’t have the outcome that we wanted, but we went all out from the get-go. That tempers my disappointment, I guess you would say. I don’t know what else we could have done. I feel very happy with the effort we put out.”
The U.S. will now race in Sunday’s B final against Egypt, Thailand, India, and Mexico for overall places 7-11.
In addition to the PR3 mixed double, the PR3 mixed four with coxswain will be in action on Sunday with medals on the line.
The crew of 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) won their heat on Friday to advance directly to Sunday’s final. The crew took control of the race in the second 500 meters and walked away from the field over the back half of the course to finish nearly five seconds ahead of France. Great Britain set a world record in winning the other heat ahead of Germany. The four crews will be joined by Australia and Italy, who advanced from today’s repechage, in tomorrow’s final.
“We’re really not worried about anyone else,” said Dahl of what they are trying to ‘bring’ in the final. “At the end of the day, we’re going to do what we’re going to do. It’s our plan, and it’s our race. We’re just going to do what we can do, and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it.”
Click here for a complete race schedule and results. The U.S. has two boats racing in Paris. All seven athletes are first-time Paralympians.
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