(Portions of this release from Row2k.com)
Cambridge, Mass. (July 21) -- Former MIT women's openweight rower Emelie Eldracher '23 was a member of the PR3 four with coxswain crew that captured the gold medal recently at the 2023 Para Rowing Regatta to Paris. The event took place on the Paralympic course in Vaires-sur-Marne, France.
 
Eldracher, the team's coxswain, was joined in the boat by Ben Washburne (Williams College), Saige Harper (Sacred Heart University), Skylar Dahl (University of Virginia) and Alex Flynn (Tufts University) as the crew defeated Italy by a 25-second margin. In the morning race, the U.S. crew crossed in a time of 6:59.35 to defeat France by a little over 11 seconds as Italy finished third. In the final, the American boat posted a time of 7:14.33 as France did not compete in the final. Eldracher was also a part of the PR3 mixed four that finished fifth at last year's World Championships.
 
"We are thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to race internationally this early in our training," Eldracher said. "For our first races as a crew, we went out with the goal of accomplishing the best pieces we could. Thanks to the dogged determination of this boat, we're leaving France proud and excited to keep moving forward."
 
The Para Rowing Regatta to Paris gave the crew their first opportunity to race together leading up to the 2023 World Rowing Championships, which are slated for September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia. This year's World Championship is the first opportunity for countries to qualify boats for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
 
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