Military Olympians
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Army vet takes bronze in rowing
Army veteran Laura Schwamger made history Sept. 11 at the 2008 Paralympic Games, winning one of two medals ever awarded in the sport of rowing.
In the final of the women's arms only single sculls, four-time Paralympian Schwanger (Harrisburg, Pa.) sprinted from fifth to third place in the final 200 meters of the race to take bronze. Defending world champion Helene Raynsford of Great Britain won gold in a 6:12.93, with Liudmila Vauchok of Belarus second in a 6:25.44 for the silver. Schwanger clocked a 6:35.07, followed by Ukraine in a 6:40.04. China and Brazil finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
"The competition was incredibly tough," said Schwanger, a former track and field Paralympic athlete, who won four gold medals in 1988, three silver medals and a bronze medal in 1992 and three silver medals in 1996. "I am just happy to win a medal."
After missing a qualifying spot in yesterday’s repechages by less than a second, Marine Corps veteran Angela Madsen (Long Beach, Calif.) and Scott Brown (Collingdale, Pa.) won the B final of the mixed double sculls for seventh place overall. The duo led from wire-to-wire, defeating Ukraine’s Sergii Dereza and Iryna Kyrychenko by 7.45 seconds.
Source: US Rowing