Graduate Alex Flynn Wins Gold With PR3 Mixed Coxed Four at World Rowing Championships

MEDFORD, MA (September 3, 2026) - Alex Flynn, a 2026 Tufts University graduate, made history as a member of the United States Para Rowing program last Thursday (Aug. 27) when he and the PR3 mixed coxed four team claimed the first U.S. world title in the event.

Competing at the World Championships in Amsterdam, Flynn and his teammates surged past the team from Great Britain down the stretch to earn the historic victory. The U.S. ended a 15-year winning streak by Great Britain at the World Championships and Olympics, and set a World Rowing Championships record for the event with their 6:46.60 time.

"Once we crossed the finish line, I don't know how to describe it," Flynn said. "This is what we've been working towards since I joined the team in 2022. To be able to break that 15-year streak was unbelievable. It was the craziest experience I've had in my entire life."

According to USRowing.org, the U.S. team settled into fifth place in the opening 500 meters of the race. The third 500 meters showed the U.S.'s power as they moved into second place and began to chip away at Great Britain's lead. Confident in their rhythm, the Americans continued to take inch after inch off the leading crew. The gold medal came down to the final 250 meters, with the U.S. carrying the momentum. The Americans crossed the line 1.27 seconds ahead of Great Britain to win gold in the event for the first time.

"We knew that all the other teams were going to go out fast," Flynn said. "We did not expect to be as far down as we were at 500. In the back of our minds, we knew that we had the fitness and we'd done the work to be able to catch back up and win."

The U.S. crew was comprised of Paralympic silver medalists Skylar Dahl (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Flynn (Wilmington, Mass.), three-time national team member Max Allemeier (Marietta, Ga.), Gabriella Bigler (San Diego, Calif.), and coxswain Hannah Diaz (Seattle, Wash.).

"We turned the tide in the landscape of this event," Flynn said. "No one had ever done this before. For it to be me, and all of us, it really meant more than winning a gold."

As the most experienced member of the boat, having seen the team come up short before, Flynn said winning gold — regardless of the opponent — meant something special as well.
 
The PR3 rowing category is for people with a verifiable disability who can still use the functionality of their legs, trunk and arms. Flynn has a left clubfoot, which prevents him from bending the foot upward and has resulted in muscle atrophy to the calf on his left leg.

He earned a position on the U.S. Para Rowing team in 2022 and helped the mixed coxed four team earn fifth place at the 2022 World Championships. He was then part of the mixed coxed four team that won a silver medal at the World Championships in 2023. He then captured an Olympic medal with the team at the 2024 Games in Paris where they took the silver. He did not compete in 2025 while working an internship at TE2 Engineering in Needham, Mass. His return to the team this year helped lead the U.S. to its historic performance.

"Alex has matured and grown tremendously in his time with U.S. Rowing," said Tom Siddall, coach of the US PR3 mixed coxed four and a former Tufts assistant (2019-22). "He has grown into a mature, thoughtful team leader that others look to for support and feedback. He's made himself into a strong athlete and has become incredibly consistent."

As a member of the Tufts team last spring, Flynn sat bow seat for the second varsity eight that helped the Jumbos place fourth at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship. He graduated in May, but is back on campus pursuing a Master's degree in mechanical engineering and possibly doing some coaching with the Jumbos.

His time at Tufts helped put him in position for the success he has seen as a member of the U.S. team, which he hopes to continue at the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

"Tufts really helped me develop as a rower," he said. "I had great coaching with Tom (Siddall) and George Munger. It really helped me find out who I was as a rower and develop both my fitness and my technique."
 
Written by Paul Sweeney, Athletic Communications Specialist