IVY LEAGUE PRESENCE FELT ON TOKYO 2020 PARALYMPICS PODIUM

Photo courtesy of Getty Sport.

TOKYO -- The Ivy League’s presence could be felt on the medal podium at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as all three Ivy League representatives earned a Paralympic medal in their respective events.

The league’s contingent hailed from Columbia, Harvard and Princeton and covered three disciplines- rowing, swimming and triathlon.

Princeton PhD candidate Brad Snyder won gold in his PTVI Paratriathlon debut making history as the first American man to win the individual triathlon event in either the Olympics or Paralympics as he crossed the line with guide Greg Billington clocking 1:01.16.

Snyder is no stranger to the Paralympic Games as he is a seven-time medalist in swimming in his two previous Paralympics appearances.

In his Paralympic debut, John Tanguay became the first Columbia rowing alumni to take home an Olympic or Paralympic medal after winning silver in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four. Tanguay and his Team USA crewmates crossed the line with a time of 7:20.13, over seven seconds ahead of the third-place boat. The Team USA PR3 Mixed Cox Four boat was the seventh consecutive silver won at a world championship or Paralympic Games.

Harvard swimming’s David Abrahams qualified for three events in Tokyo—100-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley (IM) and 100-meter breaststroke—and set the American records in the 100m multi-class butterfly and 200m multi-class IM during the qualification trials.

Abrahams opened competition in Tokyo with a fifth-place finish in the heats of the 100-meter butterfly-S13. A few days passed before Abrahams was in the pool again for the 200-meter IM S13, where he placed fourth in the finals, 1.88 seconds out of reach of a bronze medal.

In Abrahams final event of the Paralympic Games, he placed first in his heat of the 100-meter breaststroke to qualify him for the finals. Abrahams competed against Germany’s Taliso Engel world record time to capture silver in the 100-meter breaststroke to add to Team USA’s medal count.

For full recaps and coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games, visit ivylg.co/IviesinTokyo.