Williams Grad Rowing for USA in Paralympic Games
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – A summer of international athletic competition in the City of Lights did not end when the Olympic torch was doused, and next week, once again, an alumnus of Williams College is going for the gold.
2023 graduate Ben Washburne is set to compete in the U.S. PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain at Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium, site of the Paralympic Games’ rowing events.
“I am incredibly proud to be representing Team USA at the Paralympics,” Washburne said recently. “The excitement has been building. My boat has been training hard for the last four months together in Boston and just traveled over to Italy for a training trip before heading to the Games. We have found a lot of speed since our silver medal finish at World Cup III and cannot wait to give it our all in Paris.
“Thank you to everyone in the Williams community who has reached out with support and encouragement over the last few months."
Washburne, a Connecticut native who now lives and works in Cambridge, Mass., rowed all four years at Williams.
He won the NESCAC Championships every year it was contested: 2021 as the bowman of the First Eight, 2022 as the stroke of the Second Eight, and in 2023 as the seven seat of the Second Eight. The league championships were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Washburne also raced at the IRA National Championships three years in a row, and in 2023 he won the inaugural Division III Men's Second Varsity Eight race.
All of his success did not come overnight. Born with a severe club, foot he had to undergo numerous surgeries, spending lots of time in a wheelchair. With a severely limited range of motion in one of his legs, Washburne struggled in sports where athletes stand on their feet.
He never gave up on athletics though, and when he discovered rowing in eighth grade, his hard work, dedication, and love for the sport earned him a spot at Williams, where he continued to develop into a National Team level athlete.
Washburne first earned a spot on the U.S. Senior Para Team in 2023, when he stroked the PR3 Mixed Four with Coxswain to a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships on the same course where the 2024 Paralympics races will be held.
This summer in Paris, Washburne will hope to reach the medal stand, just like Williams grad Kristi Kirshe, who took bronze with the U.S. Rugby sevens at the Olympics.
"Ben is part of a well-coached and motivated crew that has shown tremendous potential,” Williams crew coach Marc Mandel said of Washburne. “Knowing the countless hours over the past year that they put into practice in the simple pursuit of making the boat go faster, I'm clearly excited to watch him and his teammates represent the U.S. at the highest level of our sport and experience everything that goes along with the Paralympics.”
The rowing competition is set to get underway on Aug. 30 with medals awarded on Sept. 1. The Paralympics Opening Ceremony is Aug. 28; NBC Sports is telecasting the festival.
