Blake Haxton

Started: He began rowing at high school, and got involved in Para rowing several years after the amputation of his legs. He took up competitive Para canoe sprint after the 2016 Paralympic Games. (canoeicf.com, 02 Sep 2021; usrowing.org, 22 Mar 2014) Reason: He started rowing in high school. He returned to the sport after his illness by coaching the rowing team at his former high school. He was then encouraged to compete in Para rowing by Tom Darling, the director of Para rowing at US Rowing. He became interested in Para canoe sprint after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and set the goal of competing in both sports at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (canoeicf.com, 02 Sep 2021; USRowing YouTube channel, 18 Dec 2019; usrowing.org, 24 Aug 2014; sports.yahoo.com, 10 Jul 2012) Milestones: He won the United States of America's first canoe sprint medal at the Paralympic Games when he claimed silver in the men's VL2 200m at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: The Blake Haxton Fall Regatta in Columbus, OH, United States of America, was named after him in recognition of his achievements. (abc6onyourside.com, 26 Oct 2019) He was named 2016 Male Athlete of the Year by US Rowing. (teamusa.org, 18 Nov 2016) Additional Info: CANOE SPRINT FOCUS He became interested in Para canoe sprint after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Once the schedule of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo was announced, he decided he wanted to compete in both rowing and canoe sprint at the Games. Following Tokyo 2020, he decided he would focus on canoe sprint. "When I saw the schedule come out, I thought maybe with three or four days off, especially with canoe coming after the rowing, going from 2000 metres down to 200 is probably a lot better than going from 200 up to 2000. I suppose I can do both into the future, but I think I'm probably gone as a rower. We've been talking about it, I've had a great run in rowing, but I think that might have ended here a couple of days ago [after his performance in Tokyo]. But I definitely plan on continuing in the canoe no matter what happens." (canoeicf.com, 02 Sep 2021) RETURN TO ROWING He competed in non-Para rowing at high school, but struggled to find the motivation to return to the sport following the amputation of his legs. He also admits to finding Para rowing more difficult than he anticipated when he first tried the sport. "It really took me three or four years to even entertain the idea of rowing again, and even then, I wasn't thinking of getting back in the boat. It was slow. It felt confining. When you're sitting there with a strap around your waist and another one around your chest and your brain still remembers how to take full body strokes but you just can't, you have to rewire yourself a little bit. If there is a moral to my story, it's that I've had great people around to help me get to where I am. I've had a lot of good and amazing people around me every step of the way, my friends, my family, coaches, teammates, doctors and nurses. And it has been an amazing thing to see." (usrowing.org, 24 Aug 2014; sports.yahoo.com, 10 Jul 2012) FURTHER EDUCATION He completed a law degree at Ohio State University in the United States of America in 2016. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020; blakehaxton.com, 21 Apr 2019)