American para-rower and canoeist Blake Haxton was born on December 17, 1990, and he is a Paralympic kayaker. He competed for the United States in the Summer Paralympics of 2020 and 2016. Additionally, he qualifies for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Blake Haxton qualifies for the 2024 Paris Paralympic
Blake Haxton earned a spot to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. He will be part of the United States Paralympic Sprint Canoe Team. He finished first in the PR1 men’s single sculls event, with no other competitors crossing the finish line.
“Being a USA athlete has been an enormous honor,””As a still-active competitor, I hope to bring a unique perspective to the USRowing Foundation. Through this new role with the foundation, I will be looking for ways to support Team USA, and promote our high-performance programs and athletes.”
said Haxton.
After securing this position for the Paralympics, Haxton will now focus on qualifying for the Paralympics in sprint canoe. There is one more chance for him to qualify, with a regatta happening in May.
Blake was diagnosed with a Disease in his Early Age
Blake Haxton was born on December 17, 1990, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. His parents are Steven and Heather Haxton. He has one sister named Haley and one brother named Anderson. Blake is 3 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He went to Upper Arlington High School.
In March 2009, when Blake was a senior in high school in Columbus, Ohio, he got a serious illness called necrotizing fasciitis, also known as the flesh-eating disease. In just three days, he went from being the captain of his school’s rowing team and a top college rowing recruit to suffering major organ failure and having both of his legs amputated above the knees. After over twenty major surgeries and three months in the hospital, Blake was finally released.
Even after his life-threatening medical problems, Blake went to Ohio State University that fall and earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance in 2013. He then went to Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law and also returned to the sport of rowing, making the U.S. National Arms and Shoulders single sculls team.
Blake got his law degree from Ohio State in 2016. He now works as a Research Analyst for Brandywine Global Investment Management in Columbus, Ohio. He keeps training for international sprint canoe competitions.
How Blake Haxton Started Rowing in his High School
Blake started rowing in high school because his friends and family wanted him to try it. At first, he did not want to, but after a few weeks, he really liked it. His biggest achievement was making the U.S. National Team. Blake says his older brother Anderson was the most important influence in his life.
In 2007, Blake Haxton came in fifth place in the youth four with coxswain event at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
In 2014, he finished fourth in the arms and shoulders single sculls at the World Rowing Championships. He also won the arms and shoulders single sculls at the U.S. Para-Rowing World Championships Trials that year, and became the winner of the C.R.A.S.H. B. Indoor Rowing Championships.
Also See: Who is Para-Rower Todd Vogt? And what happened to him?
In 2015, Haxton got fifth position in the arms and shoulders single sculls at the World Rowing Championships. He won the arms and shoulders single sculls at the Para Rowing and Junior World Championships Trials.
In 2016, Haxton represented the United States at the Summer Paralympics in the men’s single sculls event. He finished in fourth place with a time of 4 minutes and 54.25 seconds. He also won the arms and shoulders single sculls at the Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials that year.
In 2017, Haxton placed sixth in the PR1 single sculls at the World Rowing Championships. He finished first in the PR1 single sculls at the U.S. Senior and Para World Championship Trials.
In 2018, Haxton came in fourth place in the PR1 single sculls at the World Rowing Championships.
In 2019, Haxton finished in seventh place in the PR1 single sculls event at the World Rowing Championships.
Blake is representing the US in various World Stages
In 2020, Haxton won the PR1 single sculls event at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials for Rowing.
In 2021, Haxton had great success in Paralympic sports. He won a silver medal in the VL2 paracanoe event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. He won his semifinal race with his fastest time ever. In the final race later that morning, Haxton finished with a time of 55.093 seconds, just 2.016 seconds behind the winner Fernando Rufino de Paulo from Brazil.
In 2022, Blake Haxton continued to do very well in athletics. He was part of the U.S. Paralympic Rowing Team and was chosen for the Paralympic team in the men’s single sculls event at the U.S. Team Trials earlier that year. Also, Haxton earned a spot to compete in Tokyo by finishing fourth in the men’s VL2 200m race. So he represented the United States in both rowing and paracanoe at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
In 2023, Blake Haxton took part in the World Championships, specifically the VL2 event, and was successful in winning a medal. He got 3rd place at the 2023 World Championships in Duisburg in the VL2 category. This showed his great talent and determination in the sport of para canoeing.
What caused Haxton’s injury
In 2009, when Blake Haxton was 18 years old, he had a pulled muscle in his calf. This led to a very serious case of necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria. This fast-spreading infection, caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria, resulted in having to amputate both of Haxton’s legs above the knees in order to save his life.
Blake Haxton, a former rower at Upper Arlington High School, and his parents settled lawsuits they filed against a hospital and doctors. This was after the flesh-eating bacteria led to the amputation of Haxton’s legs. Blake, who was 21 at the time, was the senior captain of the rowing team when pain in his calf sent him to the emergency room at Riverside Methodist Hospital in March 2009.
Doctors diagnosed Haxton with quick-moving necrotizing fasciitis, which can spread under the skin. Within a few days, Haxton was on life support and was moved to Ohio State University Medical Center, now called the Wexner Medical Center. Doctors there amputated both of his legs above the knee.
Haxton and his parents – Steven A. and Heather Haxton – filed medical negligence lawsuits later that year in Franklin County’s Common Pleas Court and the Ohio Court of Claims. The lawsuits named Riverside, the parent company OhioHealth, and more than 15 doctors.
Ohio State University Medical Center was also named because it employed a doctor-in-training who cared for Haxton at Riverside. However, OSU Medical Center itself was not sued over the care Haxton received. A trial in Common Pleas Court was scheduled to start on Monday, but the parties told the court last month that they had reached a settlement. That settlement covers all parties and lawsuits, said Gerald Leeseberg, Haxton’s attorney.
