#Paralympian Angela Madsen dies rowing across Pacific Ocean alone

Enlarge Image

Angela Madsen competing in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Atsushi Tomura

Paralympic medalist Angela Madsen died during her quest to make history rowing alone across the Pacific Ocean, her wife said this week.

Madsen, 60, a US Marine veteran, set sail in a 20-foot rowboat in April from Marina Del Ray, California to head to Honolulu, the Mercury News reported.

She had been hoping to become the first paraplegic, openly gay athlete and oldest woman to achieve the feat, the outlet reported.

Her goal was to reach the Hawaii Yacht Club within four months, but she stopped responding to messages halfway through her mission, according to the report.

Her wife, Deb Madsen, wrote on a Facebook page that the rower had planned to do some maintenance in the water before they lost communication over the weekend.

When Deb checked the tracking of her boat, it appeared to be drifting instead of being powered by an oar, according to the report.

The Coast Guard dispatched a plane Monday to search and Angela’s body was recovered near her boat, RowofLife, the report said.

“The plane saw Angela in the water, apparently deceased, tethered to RowofLife, but was unable to relay that information due to poor satellite coverage,” Deb wrote on Facebook.

Angela became paralyzed after a botched back surgery in 1993, then took up rowing four years later, the outlet reported.

She competed in the Paralympics three times, earning a bronze medal in both rowing and shot put, the report said.