TODD Andrew

Canada
Rowing
13 Jun 1989
32
Male
PR3-PI
THUNDER BAY, ON
 
Canada
HALIFAX, NS
 
Canada

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
ROW Rowing PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+
CAN
Canada
 8

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Heat 1
#7
Finished
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Repechage 1
#15
Finished
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Final B
#20
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
RankEventYearLocationResult
Paralympic Games
3LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2016Rio de Janeiro, BRA3:19.90
World Championships
1Men's PR3 Pair2019Linz, AUT7:16.42
1Men's PR3 Pair2018Plovdiv, BUL
3LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2015Aiguebelette-le-Lac, FRA3:27.38
4PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+2018Plovdiv, BUL7:10.21
:
Athlete
:
Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering - University of Ottawa, Canada
:
Wife Jenna, daughter Rosaleigh [2020]
:
English
:
North Star Rowing Club [Dartmouth, NS, CAN]
:
John Wetzstein [national], CAN
:
His wife Jenna Pelham has represented Canada in rowing, including at the 2016 World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (ottawasportspages.ca, 18 Aug 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 24 Aug 2021)
:
He was training with Canada's national able-bodied rowing squad at the time of his accident. (rowmag.com, 22 Mar 2016)
:
He began rowing in 2007 at the University of Ottawa in Canada. "In my first year of university in 2007 I was looking for a new sport, something that would allow me to maintain my fitness but give me that flexibility to focus on school. I'd never touched an oar before then, but I had a lot of fun with rowing. By 2009 I decided I wanted to see if I could go somewhere with it." (rowmag.com, 22 Mar 2016; sportnovascotia.ca, 10 Mar 2020)
:
He was determined to continue with the sport after his accident, and it became part of his rehabilitation. "I'd wake up every morning and try to make sure I was one step closer to getting back in a boat. Rowing helped me a lot. It helped from a mental point of view. I felt like I got back to where I wanted to be. It was something I knew I wanted to return to. I worked closely with my doctors as to what I am allowed to do." (rowmag.com, 22 Mar 2016; paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2019; ottawacitizen.com, 03 Jun 2016)
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To record a time of less than seven minutes in the mixed PR3 coxed four at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (ottawasportspages.ca, 18 Aug 2021; saltwire.com, 14 Jun 2021)
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"In my experience, the best metric for improvement and progression is consistency of training. There is no secret formula or recipe to getting fitter and faster. You just have to put in the time, focus and work." (saltwire.com, 14 Jun 2021)
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In 2020 he was named Male Rower of the Year by Row Nova Scotia in Canada. (Row Nova Scotia Facebook page, 14 Apr 2020)

In 2019 he was named joint winner of the Rowing Canada Aviron [RCA] Para Athlete of the Year award, alongside Kyle Fredrickson. (Row Nova Scotia Facebook page, 14 Apr 2020)

In 2017 he won the Young Alumni Award at the University of Ottawa in Canada. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2019)

In 2016 he was named Rower of the Year at the Ottawa Sports Awards in Canada. (ottawarowingclub.com, 09 Feb 2017)

In 2015 he was named Para Athlete of the Year by Rowing Canada. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2016)

In January 2014 he received a Special Citation Award from Rowing Canada, given in recognition of significant acts of bravery, good sportsmanship and concern for others, which uphold the traditional values of the sport. (rowingcanada.org, 25 Jan 2014)

General Interest

Classification
PR3 (World Rowing, 21 Aug 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (rowingnews.com, 04 Aug 2020; cbc.ca, 19 Aug 2013)

Impairment Details
In May 2013 he was training in London, ON, Canada, trying to secure a berth on the national able-bodied lightweight fours crew. While on a training bike ride, a school bus went through a stop sign and hit him, dragging him along the road for about 20 feet. He sustained pelvis, femur, tibia and fibula fractures, and nerve damage to his lower right leg. Much of his right knee was destroyed, and he was left with partial loss of function in his quadriceps and hamstrings. (cbc.ca, 27 Sep 2016, 19 Aug 2013; paralympic.ca, Sep 2016; ottawacitizen.com, 03 Jun 2016; rowingnews.com, 04 Aug 2020)

General
PORT VERSUS STARBOARD
He says he prefers to row on the port [left] side of the boat, despite his impairment meaning that he is stronger on the starboard [right] side. "Ever since I started rowing, I've preferred [rowing] port. Most of my results, however, pre- and post-accident, have been on starboard. Now the fact that my left leg is stronger than my right, it makes sense to row starboard, to rely on the inside leg, which has better compression. Port still feels more comfortable, but biomechanically I'm stronger on starboard." (rowingnews.com, 04 Aug 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2016 he became an athlete council member at Rowing Canada Aviron, representing Canadian national team rowers. He has also served on the board of directors at Row Nova Scotia. Outside of rowing, he has volunteered as an emergency department aid at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC, Canada, and in 2014 he completed an internship as a prosthetist and orthotist assistant. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2021; Row Nova Scotia Facebook page, 14 Apr 2020; sportnovascotia.ca, 10 Mar 2020)

PREVIOUS OCCUPATIONS
Between 2009 and 2011 he spent time working as an environmental engineer at an engineering company, as a research and development engineer for the Royal Canadian Mint, and as a biophysics researcher at the University of Ottawa in Canada. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2021)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
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Bronze Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos