Lauren Rowles laid down an emphatic marker as she began her quest for a third consecutive Paralympic gold medal with a new world best time.
The 26-year-old came into the regatta alongside her PR2 mixed double sculls partner Gregg Stevenson targeting not just another victory but a long-awaited breaking of the eight-minute barrier for the 2,000-meter distance.
In Heat 1 at Vaires-sur-Marne in rainy conditions on Friday morning, the British duo crossed the line first in 7:56.92 — a stunning time, and nearly 11 seconds faster than their nearest challengers, Poland’s Jolanta Majka and Michal Godawski.
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For Rowles, it’s the first part of the Paris quest completed. The second part is to secure gold in the final on Sunday.
She is always up for a challenge but after Tokyo, it wasn’t immediately clear what that next ambition should be.
Since Rowles had teamed up with Laurence Whiteley in the sculls boat for Rio 2016, there had been unparalleled success. They went on to become the first-ever two-time Paralympic champions, world champions and European champions.
However, Whiteley retired in June 2022 at a time when Rowles was beginning to feel lost. “I had a really challenging time with my mental health,” she admitted.
“I think a large part of that stemmed from the fact I didn’t know who I was off the water. I don’t think there was a Lauren that existed away from a rowing boat.”
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However, with the support of her fiancee Jude Hamer — who understands the unique pressures of elite sport having represented Britain in the three previous Paralympics, in wheelchair basketball — Rowles was able to get her mental health back on track.
And having rediscovered her personal rowing mojo, she identified a potential new sculls partner in Stevenson, a former soldier and double amputee who was still hungry for sporting success having missed the cut for Rio and the Invictus Games.
The hard work of training began, but this soon proved to be another power couple propelling themselves to glory. Going into Paris with 10 wins in international races together under their belts — including last year’s World Championships — and three world best times, they look almost unbeatable.
Another significant development off the water was the arrival for Rowles and Hamer of baby Noah, in March 2024.
“Everything has intensified since I became a mother,” she added. “Having a family foundation and knowing that at the end of it all, I get to go home to an amazing support system is what’s really important. I feel so blessed to have that.”
In the same month, Rowles became a patron for Just Like Us, the U.K. charity for LGBTQ young people.
It’s a role that is hugely meaningful to her, as she explained in a recent interview with Sky Sports.
“I was bullied for being gay at school before I was even out and gay,” she said. Now when she’s not rowing, she can be found delivering inspirational speeches to schoolchildren, something she says brings her “queer joy” and a sense of purpose.
She touches upon the conundrum that people with disabilities who are LGBTQ often encounter.
“We already feel segregated because we are disabled,” she explains. “You then don’t want to segregate yourself more for being even more different.
“That’s what I felt growing up. I was already treated different for being disabled — I felt that I was already so singled out in society.”
That’s why Rowles is so proud to represent both ParalympicsGB and Team LGBTQ at the Games in Paris.
“For so long, we’ve been taught that we are the problem,” she added. “Now we’re realizing that people from marginalized communities are not the problem, it’s society that is the problem.
“These ideas that people have put on us are what we’re trying to break down.”
With her focus now firmly on Sunday’s final, Rowles is ready to smash through to the podium once more.
“Our goal was to deliver a world best and then that gold medal,” she said after Friday’s heat.
“It’s all about going out, winning that race, and continuing the legacy of this boat. I can’t wait to get out there and do it with Gregg.”
