URI rowing alums Allie Reilly and Karen Petrik and rowing coach Shelagh Donohoe captured silver at last month’s Tokyo Paralympics. Photo Credit gorhody.com
University of Rhode Island rowing alumnae Karen Petrik, Allie Reilly and current rowing Head Coach Shelagh Donohoe represented the smallest state on one of the biggest stages, bringing home silver at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Competing for Team USA in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four event, a race classified as a race without use or limited use of trunk, arms or at least one leg or with visual impairments, Petrik and Reilly, coached by Donohoe, finished with a time of 7:20.13, twelve seconds behind two-time defending gold medalist Great Britain.
The vast majority of the 2000-meter race was close between the United States and Great Britain, but the British eventually pulled away in the final 500 meters. The second place finish marks the second and third silver medals that Petrik and Reilly have won, respectively.
“Bringing home a silver medal is awesome,” Reilly said. “After such a hard year of training, a lot of that in quarantine, I am really happy with the result. To be named a Paralympian is already such an accomplishment. Then to add a silver medal to that really justifies all the hard work.”
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and limited races due to restrictions, the rowers were eager to be with each other doing the sport that they love.
“I think the experience was especially special after being so isolated over the last year. To have everyone come together for sport was really cool,” Reilly said.
Before standing together on the podium at the Paralympics, Petrik and Reilly were teammates for three years on the URI Rowing team, coached by Donohoe. During that time, they won three Atlantic 10 titles and made three NCAA Championship appearances. Reilly was also a
The duo come from very different rowing backgrounds. Petrik was recruited by the Rams after being the coxswain for her high school team in Connecticut, while Reilly, a North Kingstown native, walked onto the team with no prior rowing experience. Coach Donohoe was actually the person who introduced Reilly to the Paralympics and helped guide her to that level of competition. The skills she learned over her four-year career allowed her to become the Paralypian she is today.
“Allie is an A-student as far as rowing,” Donohoe said. “She does it all, and I’m really proud that she learned to row right here in this program.”
Away from the water, Petrik is in her third year teaching fourth grade in her hometown of Glastonbury, Connecticut and Reilly is currently working towards applying to graduate programs to become a physician’s assistant.
Although the two are unsure of what the future holds, these former Rams have made quite a name for themselves not only in the small state of Rhode Island, but across the world.
Karen Petrik was unavailable for comment by the time of publication.