Birkbeck student wins Paralympic gold medal
Giedrė Rakauskaitė adds to her gold medal haul after winning gold medals in both the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.
MSc Sport Management student Giedrė Rakauskaitė recently won gold in the mixed coxed fours in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, making it Great Britain’s most successful boat after being unbeaten for 14 years.
Giedrė commented: “The Paris games were organised exceptionally well. We’re very happy as a team and so proud of each other. Not only did we manage to defend our winning streak we also did it in world record pace.
“My Birkbeck tutors are very supportive of my current position. I’m currently writing my dissertation with the deadline approaching in December.”
Giedrė took up rowing aged 14. A year later she was involved in a car accident that resulted in a long road to recovery. But as soon as she was walking again without crutches – actually before she even started walking – she began going to rowing training sessions, “I was desperately clinging onto the sport, and it brought life back to me.”
Her love for the sport has lasted a lifetime, and her aim for the future is to work with aspiring athletes to help them realise their potential. Giedrė applied to Birkbeck “to achieve this dream and learn more about the business of sport and build a theoretical background to everything I’m doing day-to-day.”