Worcester rower Giedre Rakauskaite marked the 18th anniversary of the car accident that left her disabled with gold at the Paralympics.

Having started rowing aged 14, her life changed a year later when her leg was badly injured and had to be amputated despite doctors working hard to save it.

Eighteen years later to the day, Rakauskaite is now a double Paralympic champion in the mixed coxed four.

“It carries huge significance for me and it’s now a golden anniversary,” she said, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – which has been vital on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Games. 

“The Paralympics have been a second chance. I always wanted to be an athlete but when I was a kid, I thought that chance was taken away from me.

“Finding out later when I was in my 20s that I can still pursue my dream as a Paralympian, it was something I just latched on to and clearly didn’t give up.”

Rakauskaite is the rock in ParalympicsGB’s mixed coxed four that are now 14 years unbeaten, boasting the longest winning streak in sport.

Cox Erin Kennedy, who has beaten breast cancer, guided Ed Fuller, Rakauskaite, Josh O'Brien and Frankie Allen to a dominant victory in Paris.

It was one of three golds and four medals on a magical morning for GB's rowers and means the four have won 25 titles in a row since 2010.

"Every single year we have been pushing ourselves on and we've taken trust from team-mates before us," said Rakauskaite.

"There has always been an overlap of at least one or two team-mates from previous Games and we just drew on everything we could from them, trying to make them proud as well as our friends and family."

After discovering a lump in her breast while on training camp in 2022, Kennedy was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29.

She continued competing during chemotherapy and following a double mastectomy, won the 2023 European Championships exactly a year to the day after her diagnosis.

“This is the end of a narrative chapter in my life that I didn't really want to start,” said Kennedy.

“It has been a bit of a mental three years and 680 days since I was diagnosed, which can be a lot or not a lot, depending on how you look at it.

“Rowing has been the constant for me when things were changing and always provided the goal.

“I just pass a lot of the credit on to my team-mates, the belief in myself might have run out at some point but they never let it happen.”

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