Trinity Sport Scholarship student John Tanguay has won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain rowing event for the United States. The United States coxswain crew of Karen Petrik, John Tanguay, Charley Nordin, Dani Hansen and Allie Reilly finished behind the defending Paralympic champions from Great Britain and ahead of the bronze medal winning French crew.
Once again, it was a two-boat race in PR3 mixed four with coxswain between Team USA and Great Britain. For the seventh consecutive time at either the world championships or the Paralympic Games, Great Britain got the best of Team USA in the event, pulling away to win in a time of 7:09.08 on Sunday in the final event of the Paralympic regatta. The Americans were the only team in sight at 11.05 seconds back, with third-place France finishing 17.96 seconds off the swift pace of Team GB. It’s their third consecutive Paralympic gold medal and the second consecutive silver medal for Team USA.
“It feels good,” said U.S. two-time Paralympian Dani Hansen, who’s been a part of all seven-silver medal-winning crews. “It's an accomplishment to bring back a medal for the U.S. and we're really pumped. We put a lot into it and we're happy that we came out with this, it's awesome. The one thing you can do when you come here despite the past is to put everything you can on the water, and if you're capable of doing that — which is already difficult — then you can feel proud of yourself. I think all of us did that today.”
For the U.S. team of Hansen and first-time Paralympians Charley Nordin, coxswain Karen Petrik, Allie Reilly and John Tanguay, it’s the third silver medal in team history at the Games. Besides 2016, the U.S. won silver in the debut of rowing at the Paralympic Games in 2008. For the third Games in a row, the U.S. will be bringing home one medal. “We executed what we wanted to do and we put together everything that we set out to do,” said Petrik. “We're just happy with our result and happy with how the race went.”
Commenting on the win, John Tanguay said: “To win a silver medal for the United States at the Tokyo Paralympics is an honour and a personal achievement beyond sport for me. Because I was born with bilateral clubfoot, sport was often inaccessible and beyond my physical capabilities. I began rowing because it was one of the few sports I could participate in. After ten years and many races later, I recognize this opportunity as the culmination of all the love and support I've received from family, friends, doctors, surgeons, physical therapists, coaches, and pets during my life.”
Trinity Sport Scholarship student athlete, John Tanguay, 22, is currently studying an MSc in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Trinity College Dublin Business School. John completed his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Columbia University. John Tanguay was awarded a Podium Level Trinity Sport Scholarship which recognises his exceptional athletic ability and supported him in is preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics.
United States PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain Crew:
John Tanguay (Pennington, N.J./Trinity College Dublin)
Karen Petrik (Glastonbury, Conn./University of Rhode Island)
Charley Nordin (Alameda, Calif./Gonzaga University)
Dani Hansen (Patterson, Calif./University of Washington)
Allie Reilly (North Kingstown, R.I./University of Rhode Island)