Last Updated on 01/09/2024 by Crip Life
Rowing for ParalympicsGB in this new mixed boat class at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will be debutants Sam Murray and Annie Caddick. The pair have rowed together since 2023 and were recently crowned European Champions.
As part of our ParalympicsGB debutants interview series, our editor, Emma Purcell, speaks to Sam Murray and Annie Caddick about how they became Para rowers, their sporting success so far and what they are most looking forward to at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Sam Murray biography
The introduction of a new PR3 boat for the Paris cycle created an opportunity for Sam and he made a comeback to the squad at the end of 2022, inspired by the chance to compete in the inaugural event of the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls.
Sam began rowing at school after being inspired by tales of his great grandfather’s endeavours as a Thames lighterman, guiding merchant boats up and down the Thames in his rowing boat.
He joined the squad at Caversham in the build-up to the 2016 Rio Games, narrowly missing out on selection for the PR3 Mixed Coxed four. Thinking his time with rowing was over, he left the team in 2017 to complete a Master’s in Psychology and pursue a career as a Business Performance Coach & Consultant.
Sam loves being a part of the GB Rowing Team, the world’s most successful Paralympic programme and sees it as a unique opportunity to explore what you’re capable of as an athlete and visually impaired competitor.
He’s most excited for his friends and family to experience Paris 2024 and wants to inspire his nieces Maiya and Cleo who will be travelling from the USA to support the team.
Annie Caddick biography
Annie started rowing while studying at the University of Birmingham. Rowing appealed to Annie as it was the first time she had participated in a sport where, as someone with cerebral palsy, she felt she could keep up with her non-disabled teammates and was treated as an equal rather than someone with a disability. While rowing with the university team Annie’s coach suggested she apply for British Rowing’s para development program.
Annie grew up on the Isle of Wight which is where she developed a passion for water sports. Growing up on the island she used to travel by boat to school and spent her free time surfing with her family and her summers lifeguarding the Isle of Wight’s beaches.
Sam Murray and Annie Caddick qualifying for the Paralympics
Sam and Annie’s career highlights include medalling at the 2023 European Championships and achieving Paralympic qualification at the World Championships in the PR3 mixed double sculls.
They will be part of a 10-strong rowing squad, which will also include two-time Paralympic Champion Lauren Rowles, Tokyo 2020 gold medallists, Giedre Rakauskaite and Erin Kennedy, Paralympic record-holder Benjamin Pritchard, and four other debutants – Gregg Stevenson, Frankie Allen, Ed Fuller and Josh O’Brien.
Read on to find out more about Sam Murray and Annie Caddick in their own words and scroll down to see their Paris 2024 results.
Sam Murray and Annie Caddick on living with their disability
What is it like living with your disability and do you require any adaptations with daily living?
Sam: I have a visual impairment. I don’t have peripheral vision. So I have tunnel vision. I guess the most challenging part is I can’t drive and getting around is trickier. So I adapt by having the right conversations with employers, rowing and friends about how I get to places. That would be the majority of it.
With technology, I mostly use my phone, whether that’s zooming in on things or speech stuff. But to be honest, I think I get into quite a familiar routine with it, but I don’t think about it too much because I’ve grown up with it for so many years. It just becomes one of those habits that you sort of fall into. I guess there are several that I would do that make it a bit easier for me.
Annie: Living with cerebral palsy, balance is probably the thing I struggle with the most, especially when I’m tired, I’m generally more likely to trip over. My coordination gets slightly worse, but because I’ve lived with it all my life, I don’t know any difference. So I guess for me it’s just figuring things out as I go.
Sam Murray and Annie Caddick on becoming Para rowers
How did you get into rowing and what do you love about the sport?
Sam: I started rowing at school and I guess it was like a pretty hard sport to try, based on a skill level, and how much effort and work that it takes. So there was a little bit of hook in that for me. And one of the things I really love is that I’m not reliant on my sight entirely to be able to do it. So when I was losing more of my sight, feeling like I couldn’t really keep up with cricket, rugby and football, I could still really push myself and challenge myself, and not be fully reliant on how much I could see.
I love the challenge. To be honest, I don’t think you’d be a rower at this level if you didn’t enjoy it because it’s a pretty demanding sport. I think what makes that so rewarding is that you put in and invest so much time in training and getting your body to a place that actually it does eventually pay you back.
Then when you start building the right partnership in a team with Annie, you start seeing the performances deliver as well. So it is incredibly rewarding. It just takes a lot of time to get there.
Annie: I started at university. I tried a taster session in my second year at uni and really liked it. I liked that I could keep up with my able-bodied peers and when I’m in the boat my disability is slightly less visible as well, which was a big thing for me.
Can you tell us more about the new PR3 mixed doubles classification and as part of it, is Annie Sam’s guide like in other visually impaired sports?
Annie: I’ll answer the physical disability bit because there’s two parts – there’s the physical disability bit and then you can be eligible if you’ve got a visual impairment as well, which Sam knows more about.
So with the physical disability, basically your disability gets points for it. So the more disabled you are, the more points you’ll get. For our classification, you need to have 20 points on one limb. So my right leg I’ve got 20 points on that and that’s how I classify.
And then the visual impairments are slightly different. I do probably help Sam out a little bit with the steering and checking before we move over lanes that there’s not going to be something we crash into, but generally Sam’s pretty able to do the steering and stuff by himself. I’m just sort of a little safety net if you like.
Sam: I think, especially at our training facility, we get familiar with your surroundings and most things are the way we expect them. So we can slot into our rhythm with training. Maybe when we go away to competitions and we train on lakes abroad, that’s probably where Annie has to look out a bit more and make sure I don’t drop the boat down some steps or something. But to be fair, you see other international nations and other countries doing all sorts of things, crashing and stopping in the wrong places themselves, so I think we do pretty well.
What has been the highlight of your rowing career so far?
Sam: If we had to pick competitions, we won the Europeans and we came second at this year’s World Cup. I think the thing I’m most proud of is actually how we’ve moved as a team. So I came back into the team last season, having been out for five years, and we’ve never rowed together. I think how we built through the last 18 months is the thing I’m most proud of.
Annie: I’d probably agree with Sam on the fact we haven’t had the whole three-year cycle together. This is a relatively new combination, and what we’ve managed to achieve in this timeframe is pretty incredible.
Sam Murray and Annie Caddick on preparing for Paris 2024
How does it feel to be selected for your first Paralympic Games?
Annie: It has been a rollercoaster. But to be selected is very exciting. I’m just excited to go out and show people now what we can do.
Sam: Almost the same. It’s the pinnacle of our sport, and I think it’s amazing seeing how much excitement it’s bringing to family and friends. They’re probably a lot more excited than us at the moment, just because we’re pretty focused on the job we’ve got to do. But there’s quite a big contingent coming out and they’re absolutely buzzing to come watch us at the Games.
How have your preparations been going for Paris 2024?
Annie: I think we’ve probably had the best running that we could have hoped for. Everything’s gone smoothly. So just hoping to carry on that momentum into Paris.
What are you looking forward to the most at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, as well as aiming to secure a medal?
Annie: I think probably enjoying the moment with family and friends afterwards. At the moment, our family and friends are in a very different headspace to us. So after the Games, everyone can relax, and we can just enjoy ourselves.
Sam: To be at an event that big, I mean, it’s the biggest global sporting event for any disability sport. So I think to be on that world stage and just enjoy what we can go and deliver. We’ve worked so damn hard to have this opportunity and be where we are. So I’m just really looking forward to going down that track and laying down a performance.
You can find out more about Sam Murray and Annie Caddick by following them on Instagram @samuelmurraygb and @annie_caddick.
Paris 2024 Paralympics: Rowing results
Sam Murray and Annie Caddick competed in the Mixed PR3 Double Sculls, winning silver in a time of 7:28:19. The gold went to Australia and the bronze went to Germany.
Reacting to the second-place finish, Annie said: “I’m just proud of our performance. I was really happy with our start and it was such a tight race, so exciting. Normally there’s a bit where the adrenaline settles but we didn’t settle, we just had to keep pushing. At the end, Sam said, ‘we’ve got to go’ and I felt I surge from him and I had to go with him. It means a lot and it has been a long journey to get here.”
Sam added: “The Paralympics wasn’t even in on my horizon, to be honest. I left rowing [in 2017 before returning in 2022], was working in London as a consultant and was quite content with where I got to. Only at the start of 2023 did we decide we could make a crack at this. It’s quite surreal to be here.”
The other ParalympicsGB rowing results are:
- Benjamin Pritchard – Men’s PR1 single sculls – Gold
- Lauren Rowles & Gregg Stevenson – PR2 mixed doubles sculls – Gold Francesca Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Josh O’Brien, Ed Fuller & Erin Kennedy – PR3 mixed coxed four – Gold
Be sure to catch up on Sam Murray and Annie Caddick’s race and the rest of the ParalympicsGB rowing squad at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Channel 4.
What is Para rowing?
In Para rowing, all events are raced over 1000m, rather than the 2000m that is the standard distance in Olympic rowing. As with Olympic rowing, the precise progression system depends on the number of entries. Generally, competitors race in heats and repechages before going on to contest the finals.
The first boat (measured from the bow-ball of each boat) to cross the finish line is declared the winner.
Athletes competing in the mixed double and the single scull events must comply with strict rules on how they are strapped into their boat to ensure that competition is fair.
Seats on both the mixed double and single scull events are fixed and are adapted to provide additional support to the athletes. The single scull boats are also equipped with buoyancy devices to provide additional lateral balance to the boats.