OKC Athletes Come up Short at 2012 Non-Qualified Paralympic Trials

Racing at the 2012 Non-Qualified Paralympic Trials on Mercer Lake is complete following Friday’s finals. Two crews – the women’s arms-only single sculls and the trunk-and-arms mixed double sculls – took the first step toward making the 2012 Paralympic team that will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in London.

Capital Adaptive Rowing Program’s Dana Fink won the women’s arms-only single, while the Athletes Without Limits/Louisville Rowing Club composite crew of Rob Jones and Oksana Masters won the mixed double.

In the trunk-and-arms mixed double sculls, Jones and Masters crossed the finish line in 4:18.4, followed by USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s Oz Sanchez and Jacqui Kapinowski in 4:30.6.

The winners earned the right to race at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta May 4-6 in Belgrade, Serbia. A top-two finish in each event then qualifies those athletes to the U.S. Paralympic team.

In the women’s arms-only single sculls, USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s Tricia Downing led for the first 300 meters of the 1,000-meter race course before Fink took the lead, posting a winning time of 6:46.8 to Downing’s 6:53.7.

National Selection Regatta #1 Recap: Newell and LaCava Victorious in Light Men's Pair



Newell and LaCava

USRowing Training Center’s Charlie Cole and Glenn Ochal won the final of the men’s pair at the first National Selection Regatta at the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California which took place March 16th.

Cole and Ochal posted a time of 6:27.352 for first place. Henrik Rummel and Jake Cornelius finished second in 6:31.329, followed by USTC’s Scott Gault and Will Miller in third in a time of 6:39.466. Oklahoma City’s Blaise Didier and Justin Stangel finished in 5th place in 6:49.842.

In the final of the lightweight men’s pair, featuring four pairs from Oklahoma City, Nick LaCava and Will Newell won in 6:42.505. Jimmy Sopko and Anthony Fahden finished second in 6:45.855, followed by Robin Prendes and Kenny McMahon in third in 6:50.568. Greg Flood and Ryan Fox finished fourth in 6:58.401.

For the lightweight men’s pair, the speed order serves as an opportunity for athletes to test their speed in preparation for selection of the lightweight men’s four, which will be named April 30 and compete at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta May 20-23 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Rower Slash Model!

Oklahoma City National High Performance athlete, Anders Corbett, was recently featured as a model on the websites for Lacey Elaine Dillard Photography and the Anthony David Agency.
Check out his photos at the following links:

lelaine.com Anders Corbett

Anthony David Agency Anders Corbett

OKC Athletes to Compete at 2012 Non-Qualified Paralympic Trials

Downing

Oklahoma City’s Trish Downing and Jacqui Kapinowski will compete at the 2012 Non-Qualified Paralympic Trials on Friday on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. The event will feature racing in the women’s arms and shoulders single sculls and the trunk-and-arms mixed double sculls.


The regatta will be the first step towards making the 2012 Paralympic team that will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in London. The winner of each event will earn the right to race at the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta May 4-6 in Belgrade, Serbia. A top-two finish in that regatta will qualify the athletes to the team.

In the women’s arms and shoulders single sculls, Tricia Downing will compete against Capital Adaptive Rowing Program’s Dana Fink. Downing represented the U.S. in the event at the 2011 World Rowing Championships, finishing 10th.



Kapinowski

The trunk-and-arms mixed double sculls final features Kapinowski with her new partner, Oz Sanchez. Kapinowski, a 2010 Paralympian in wheelchair curling, finished ninth in the event at the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Sanchez is a Beijing Paralympic gold-medalist in cycling.

Sanchez and Kapinowski will face the Athletes Without Limits/Louisville Rowing Club composite crew of Rob Jones, and Oksana Masters.

The trials will be run in a final-only format, beginning at 7:30 a.m. EDT on Friday with the final of the women’s arms-only single sculls. The trunk-and-arms mixed double sculls final is scheduled for 7:45 a.m. EDT.

OKC High Performance Coach, Bryan Volpenhein, Named Thomas Keller Medal Nominee

Check out USRowing's article on Bryan's recent Thomas Keller Medal Nomination HERE.