16 Years of the Paralympic Rowing Regatta with Helen Raynsford

The finals of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Regatta arguably provided some of the most exciting racing of any previous Paralympic Regatta with photo finishes in two of the five races. Sat on the finish line watching all of the action and supporting the crews (especially the British crews!) was the first ever Paralympic rowing champion, Great Britain’s Helene Raynsford.

“Today has just been absolutely fantastic, the roar of the crowd! Of course I’m going to be biased, but Great Britain have gone out there and had their best ever Paralympic Regatta; three golds and a silver! I was there in Rio when we got three golds and a bronze, but today was special!”

Helene raced at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China in 2008, the first year that rowing was included in the Games, winning the ASW1x with a 12-second margin.

Asked how para rowing has developed in the sixteen years since she raced at the Paralympic Games, Helene said;

“It has hugely come on. The skill in the boat, the technique and the level of competition has come on. You can see it every year, athletes pushing each other further and further. But the great thing for me is the camaraderie – you see those athletes, especially in the single sculls, they come off the water and they’re hugging one another. On the water they are arch enemies, but off the water, we’re all a big family.”

There have been changes in the categories over the years and, for 2024, a new boat class was added, the PR3 mixed double sculls. Helene wad delighted to see the growth of para rowing;

“Absolutely fantastic! Sam, in the GB PR3 2x was a wee young school boy in training when I was still rowing and he came in, then went away from the sport, and then came back. And now he’s a silver medalist. It’s a great inclusion. I would love to see a great diversification and more and more events in future Paralympics but you never know.”

Helene watched the racing in Paris alongside Louise Kingsley -who, in 2008 was the Team Manager for the Great Britain Paralympic Team which Helene was part off, and is now the Performance Director for British Rowing. Great Britain are the most successful nation in Paralympic rowing having won a medal at every Games since 2008. At Paris 2024, they topped the medal table with three gold and one silver.

“It has just been a cracking day, cracking weather, and what more could we ask for!”