PARIS -- Sitting in the starting blocks of the Mixed PR3 Coxed Four A Final, lined up next to Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia, 2023 Williams College graduate Ben Washburne and his crew were determined to take home a medal from the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday.
The American boat had won its heat two days earlier and pulled the third fastest time overall, so the United States boat was conceivably in contention for podium spots.
As the traffic lights on the start dock went from red to green, the race was off, and every crew came flying off the line with something to prove. For the first 250 meters, the leader of the race was anyone's guess. At the 500, the pack had started to separate, with Great Britain narrowly in front. Close behind were the Americans, the French, and Germans.
Through 1k, there was clearer separation, with Great Britain and the Americans pulling away from the rest of the field. The British looked unstoppable, but the USA wasn't going to let them get away easily. France and Germany were fighting each other hard for third but still trailed the Americans substantially.
This held true for the rest of the race, and despite a deep push from the USA to catch Great Britain, the British crossed the line first with a time of 6:55.30. Team USA finished second, going 6:58.59. They were followed by France (7:03.11), Germany (7:03.17), Australia (7:14.78), and Italy (7:15.63).
"Just crazy intense," Washburne said. "We were just all in the entire time, going for a medal. It seemed like we were possibly going to get it after the race started. Just trying to hold on the whole way through and pushing."
Washburne was the first Williams alumnus to compete at the Paralympic Games.
"Ben brought many special things to our team that are impossible to quantify," Williams coach Marc Mandel said. "Simply put, he set the standard for natural leadership and a relentless spirit that led his boats and our team. When Ben began pursuing his national team rowing career going into his senior year at Williams, I knew then and there that he would be rowing in Paris in 2024. I couldn't be more excited for and proud of Ben and his teammates - they rowed with discipline and confidence, challenging the British crew over the full measure of the race.
"I know all past and current Williams Crew athletes join me in congratulating Ben, and we can't wait to celebrate with him in person. At this point it is only fitting that one of our four-person shells be named 'Ben Washburne '23,' and we can't wait to leverage that relentless spirit during future Onota Lake practice sessions."
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Mount Greylock School Committee Accepts Gifts for DEI Work, Nutrition Program
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
An image of a new locker holding personal items for students in need at Mount Greylock Regional School that was shown to the School Committee at its last meeting.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee last week accepted a couple of financial gifts to the district and heard that a project eight years in the making should be ready for use this spring.
Interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron told the committee that the district's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Advisory Committee is taking shape and will within the next couple of months develop a request for proposals to find a consultant for the district.
The school district, which previously received a commitment from the town of Williamstown for up to $66,000 of the town's American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for that consultant, also received an offer of $28,000 from Williams College toward the same goal.
On Aug. 22, the committee voted, 6-0, with Steven Miller absent, to accept the Williams gift.
"The community feedback we've received around the DEIB work was instrumental, I think, in signifying to the college that this work was important for the wider community and also for the college community — the faculty and staff and folks who attend the college as well," School Committee member Carolyn Greene said. "This work is critical to supporting those folks."
Bergeron said his hope is that the consultant's charge will be developed by the advisory committee, which might be able to bring the consultant on board by January.
"Hopefully, they will do their work over the course of January-February-March-April, hopefully feeding into the budget cycle for next year," Bergeron said. "They'll be concluding work for this committee before the end of the school year. The conclusion will be a detailed action plan that my office, as well as the School Committee, can endorse and put into play operationally and financially for a variety of concrete improvements I think will be apparent from this work."
The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee last week accepted a couple of financial gifts to the district and heard that a project eight years in the making should be ready for use this spring. click for more
The Planning Board last week talked about balancing housing and land conservation in the rural parts of town and protecting the aquifer that supplies drinking water to most of the town's inhabitants. click for more
The district's construction adviser, Bruce Decoteau, provided the committee with a number of updates in a brief session at the current fire house on Water Street.
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CATA, based in Great Barrington, is a wide-ranging program that serves artists in nearly every discipline imaginable, from painting to acting to juggling to creative writing.
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Three years after it received the final permitting, the third and final phase of the Cable Mills housing complex is on track to break ground later this year. click for more