Event
Paris Review
Paralympic Regatta
Words: Tom Ransley / Photography: Benedict Tufnell
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games regatta marked the grand finale of a fantastic summer of rowing performances. Nine different nations secured medals on the last day of competition with Great Britain continuing their dominance by winning three of the five finals.
The first medals of the Paralympic regatta were contested by Para single scullers in which two titans of the sport fell to longstanding rivals. Paralympic, world and European champion Birgit Skarstein (NOR) arrived in Paris as PR1 women’s single favourite, albeit with two recent losses to Moran Samuel (ISR) severing her eight-year winning streak. Both athletes made it to the final but Skarstein had to race the repechage.
Ben Pritchard wins gold in the PR1M1x for GBR.
In the final Samuel built a solid lead and held it to the finish, as she had in the heat when she set a Paralympic best time. “I completed the series,” said Samuel, who now possesses a complete collection of Paralympic medals: bronze at Rio 2016, silver at Tokyo 2020, and gold at Paris 2024.