30 August 2024
Today was the first day for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Regatta in Vaires-sur-Marne, Paris. The first four races got under way without a hitch, but then a thunderstorm put a delay on the following races. However, as soon as the bad weather had passed and it was again calm water, the rest of the races could be completed without any problems.
In the PR1 women’s single sculls, Moran Samuel of Israel set a new Paralympic Best Time in her heat (9:58.02). In the second heat of the boat class, a sprint gave Anna Sheremet of Ukraine a victory over reigning Paralympic and World Champion, Birgit Skarstein of Norway. Skarstein said it was “a horrible race” but added that “They’re all really strong and really good athletes that I’m fighting against, and that’s what makes this fun too.”
In heat one of the PR1 men’s single sculls, Roman Polianskyi, the reigning Paralympic Champion from Ukraine, set a new Paralympic Games Best Time (9:04.88). However, the Ukrainian’s Best Time didn’t last long. Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard, who won the second heat, crossed the finish line in 8:51.26. Commenting on the race, Pritchard said, “I guess it leads to an exciting final on Sunday.”
Great Britain’s Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson racing in the PR2 mixed double sculls set a new Paralympic Games Best Time and a new World Best Time (7:56.92), beating their own previous World Record. The previous heat in the PR2 mixed double sculls was won by China at 8:03.70.
New boat class in the Paralympic Programme was the PR3 mixed double scull. Australia’s Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager were the fastest across the two heats (7:11.30).
The last boat class of the day was the PR3 coxed four. Great Britain are the favourites for the gold medal as they have been unbeaten in the boat class since 2010. The second heat was won by the USA.
Tomorrow, Saturday, 31 August, will see the repechages raced to confirm the lineups for the finals which will take place on Sunday, 1 September.
In the following video the different boat classes in Paralympic Rowing will be explained:
This article is based on an article published on World Rowing website on 30 August 2024.