Dragon Rowing in 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Justin Best in the 2021 Olympics. File photo. 

From the Schuylkill to the Seine, Justin Best ’19 has shown his skill in rowing. The Team USA rower joined a long tradition of Drexel University Dragons competing with the best of the best when he competed in his first Olympic Summer Games in 2021. He’s back this year in the men’s four in rowing, and he and his team hope to bring home some hardware from Paris this year.

Best is now rowing in his second Olympics and with his entry, Drexel Rowing has been represented on Team USA in every Games since 2012. Steve Kaspryzk ’05 rowed in the men’s coxed eight in 2012 and 2016.

Best’s team competed on July 28 and placed first in their heat with a time of 6:04.95 in the 2,000-meter race. Dragon diehards should set their alarms, because they’ll row again in the men’s four finals on Aug. 1 at 6:10 a.m.

Best raced in the eights while at Drexel and in the 2020 Olympics, said Drexel Director of Rowing Paul Savell, who coached Best while he was at Drexel and still keeps in touch with the rower. This time around, Best is rowing the men’s four instead.

“This boat is a high priority for the U.S. rowing team, and many think it has the best chances of winning gold [in rowing],” Savell said.

He plans to watch the Olympics with alumni to cheer on Best, who he remembers as an “outstanding athlete and incredibly hardworking and strong leader.” Aside from being outstanding in the water, Best also held the record for fastest 2,000-meter time on the ergonomic rowing machine at Drexel, Savell said.

Best is rowing with another athlete with Philly ties — Nick Mead, who attended Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square — and the pair competed together in the men’s eight in the 2020 Games. They’ll be joined in their boat by Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan.

“These four guys have been training for the past three years since the last Olympics,” Savell said. “It has required a ton of physical conditioning, technical skill, mental toughness and a rigorous training schedule.”

Another Dragon will take to the Seine in the Paralympic Games, which start on Aug. 28 and run until Sept. 8. Mark Barr ’11 will swim, bike and run his way through Paris in the sprint triathlon in the men's PTS2 division on Sept. 1, where he will hope to reach the podium. This will actually be Barr's fourth time competing in the Paralympic Games; he's also competed in 2004, 2008 and 2016's Games. He competed in several different swimming events in 2004 and 2008, finishing as high as fourth place in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, but in 2016 he switched to the sprint triathlon and nabbed another fourth-place finish. 

Drexel at the Olympics

Besides Best, three other current and former Dragons competed for a chance to make it to the Olympics this year, including Sebastian Smith ’26 and Rachel Bernhardt ’17 in swimming and Keishana Washington ’23, who competed for a spot on Team Canada’s women’s basketball team. 

Best joins six other Dragons who have competed in at least two Olympics, and the University has had nine total athletes compete in the Olympic Summer, Winter and Paralympic Games over the years. There has been one medalist in the Summer Games — Charles J. Horter in 1972's Summer Olympics for sailing — and one in the Paralympic Games — Travis Mohr in 2000 and 2004 in swimming. All athletes competed for Team USA except for when noted.

• Mark Barr ’11: 2004, 2008, 2016 Paralympic Games. Barr competed in swimming in 2004 and 2008 and paratriathlon in 2016 and 2024.
• Gabriela Marginean ’10,’17: 2020 Summer Olympics, 3x3 basketball. Marginean competed for Team Romania.
• Steve Kasprzyk ’05: 2012, 2016 Summer Olympics, men’s coxed eight rowing.
• Prawat Nagvajara, associate professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering: 2002, 2006 Winter Olympics, cross-country skiing. Nagvajara is the first Winter Olympian to compete for Thailand, and he was teaching at Drexel both times he competed.
• Travis Mohr ’04: 1996, 2000, 2004 Paralympic Games, 100-meter breaststroke and backstroke. Mohr won bronze and gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and backstroke respectively in 2000 and silver and gold in the same events in 2004.
• Robert Pipkins ’95: 1992, 1994 Winter Olympics, luge singles. Pipkins was the first African American luge racer to compete internationally.
• Frank Masley ’89: 1980, 1984, 1988 Winter Olympics, luge singles and doubles.
• Charles J. Horter ’74: 1972 Summer Olympics, three-person keelboat sailing. Horter won a bronze medal, and the boat he rowed is known as a Dragon boat.
• Thomas Kerr, MD: 1932 Summer Olympics, rowing. Kerr began Drexel’s crew program in 1957. The Kerr Cup Regatta, which is held every spring in Philadelphia, is named after him.