SAN FRANCISCO—Three-time Paralympian rower, Angela Madsen, dies at sea while trying to row from California to Hawaii. Madsen was reported dead approximately halfway into her journey to Honolulu from Los Angeles. Madsen’s wife, Debra Madsen, stated that Angela stopped responding to her text messages and her tracker showed her boat drifting at a rather slower pace than normal. Her body was found dead floating next to her boat by an aircraft after 25 hours of searching.
Debra had been worried about Angela prior to the incident stating that “the last update we received from her was that she was going in the water to fix the anchor on her bow. She was prepping it for a storm due to hit by the end of this week.”
Madsen was attempting to break a record-breaking solo voyage of being the first paraplegic, first openly gay athlete, and the oldest woman to row across the Pacific Ocean in just four months. This was her second attempt in crossing the Pacific Ocean as she successfully completed the journey with a partner in 2014. Madsen was a world-class rower, holding many accomplishments such as rowing across the Atlantic Ocean twice, competing at the Paralympic Beijing Games, and earning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games.
“Angela brought unrivaled passion, joy, and determination to the world, and we were the lucky ones to have her come into our lives as a member of the Paraplegic family,” said Cathy Sellers, retired director of U.S Paralympics Track and Field.
“Angela was living her dream. She loved being on the water,” said Debra Madsen, Angela’s wife.
