ParalympicsGB selects rowing squad for Paris 2024

Rowles is joined by former Royal Engineer Commando, Gregg Stevenson, who makes his Paralympic debut at the age of 39. ParalympicsGB were gold medallists in this class at both Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016.

Rowles and Stevenson qualified their boat for Paris 2024 at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in a World Best Time of 08:00.57 – the third WBT of their debut season. They remain unbeaten going into these Games.

Rowles said: “It’s my third Games but it feels more exciting than my first. For your first Games there’s so much excitement but you don’t know what you’re getting yourself in for whereas now I know what to expect. It’s going to be so great to experience the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and have friends and family in the stands cheering us on. Our lives have been changed through rowing and we want to show the fans what that means to us!”

Stevenson added: “This feels like a long time coming. I had the ambition during the Invictus Games days but never thought I would achieve it, so it’s been quite a journey! I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done to get to this point. The whole Stevenson family, including my wife and boys will be there in Paris to cheer us on!”

Great Britain’s most successful boat will aim to maintain its impressive 13 year - including three Paralympic Games - winning streak in Paris. The new-look crew sees Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Giedre Rakauskaite and cox Erin Kennedy joined by Paralympic debutants Frankie Allen, Ed Fuller and Josh O’Brien.

O’Brien made his GB Rowing team debut, winning gold, at the 2024 European Championships. Speaking about his selection, he said: “The last few months have been a total whirlwind with trials and racing and now I’m selected for the Paralympics, it’s so exciting! I only started rowing two years ago at Birmingham University, so it’s all happened very quickly. Thanks so much to all the coaches who taught me to row at Birmingham and the coaches and my teammates at our national training centre in Caversham who have taught me so much in a short space of time. I’ve wanted to become a Paralympian for a while and I don’t think it’s sunk in yet… it’s so massive!”

Allen added: “This is a dream come true. We have done so much hard work to get to this point and I want to make the most of all the experiences from now until the Games. The pressure of the unbeaten legacy in this boat is a privilege that I’m hugely proud to be a part of.”

Benjamin Pritchard came fifth at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Since then, he has developed into a consistent medallist, winning two World Championship bronze medals across 2022 and 2023. Last month, at the final race before Paris 2024, Pritchard won his first career gold medal at the World Rowing Cup in Poznan, Poland. The PR1 men’s single is a hotly contested, highly competitive boat class, where the 32-year-old will be looking to improve on his Tokyo performance.

Pritchard said: “I feel more prepared for Paris than I was for Tokyo, particularly as I’ve had the full cycle to build more race experience and more speed. Obviously this is the closest thing to a home Games and it will be great to have so much support from friends and family out there. I want it to be a big party and celebration of the hard work that we’ve put in over the past eight years.”

Rowing for ParalympicsGB in this new boat class at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be Sam Murray and Annie Caddick. For Murray, this new event will see him fulfil a Paralympic aspiration that started at a talent identification event back in 2007 where he was first noted as a potential rower. Murray and Caddick have rowed together since 2023 and were recently crowned European champions.

Murray said: “We’ve put so much work in and for me personally it’s been a long journey of being in and out of the squad for a number of years, so now to be selected for Paris, it’s very exciting. Part of the lure of coming back was to race in this new event and being so close to home is a bonus as so many people are coming out to support us.”

Caddick said: “Each day it gets a bit closer and I get a little more excited and a little more nervous. Sam and I have built a great partnership and we are looking forward to being the first to represent Great Britain in this boat class. The competition is fierce and the standard is very close, so I think we’ll see some exciting racing!”

ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission, Penny Briscoe said: “The past achievements of ParalympicsGB’s rowing squads speak for themselves – as a group their hard work, dedication and innate talent consistently pays off, and this squad of 10 athletes – who have already made an indelible mark on the World and European stage - is no different. I’m delighted to welcome all 10 athletes to the ParalympicsGB team for Paris 2024 and can’t wait to see them in action in Paris this summer.”

British Rowing Head of Olympic and Paralympic Performance Delivery, Tom Dyson, who will be Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “Rowing is consistently a top performing sport for ParalympicsGB and we’ll be looking to reinforce that in Paris. While our selected athletes are a blend of returning Tokyo 2020 Paralympians and those for whom Paris will be their first Games, every one of them has a Paralympic, World, European or World Cup gold medal to their credit. When you combine those rowers with a world-class group of coaches and support staff, we are all excited to show the world what the team has trained to deliver in Paris!”

A total of around 230 athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Paris, with further names to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the next few weeks. At Tokyo 2020 ParalympicsGB won medals across a record breaking 18 different sports - the highest number of any nation ever. ParalympicsGB finished second on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.

ParalympicsGB rowing crews:

PR3 mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix 4+)

Frankie Allen (Oxford Brookes University BC) – from Wallingford, Oxfordshire

Josh O’Brien (Molesey BC) – from Naseby, Northamptonshire

Giedre Rakauskaite (Worcester RC) – from Worcester / Kaunas, Lithuania

Ed Fuller (Reading University BC / Nautilus RC) – from Exeter

Erin Kennedy (cox) (Leander Club) – from Wantage, Oxfordshire

PR3 mixed double sculls (PR3 Mix 2x)

Sam Murray (Molesey BC) – from Guildford

Annie Caddick (Molesey BC) – from the Isle of Wight

PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix 2x)

Lauren Rowles (Birmingham RC) – from Birmingham

Gregg Stevenson (Agecroft RC) – from Colne (Nr Burnley)

PR1 Men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x)

Benjamin Pritchard (City of Swansea RC) – from Mumbles, Swansea