60-year-old was crossing from California to Hawaii
Madsen was also a campaigner for disability and LBGT rights
Angela Madsen, whose remarkable life took in a spell in the Marines, a string of gold medals and record setting rowing journeys, has died while attempting a solo journey from California to Hawaii.
The 60-year-old’s death was confirmed by her wife, Deb Madsen, in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “With extreme sadness,” she wrote, “I must announce that Angela Madsen will not complete her solo row to Hawaii.”
According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Deb said she had last heard from her wife, who was on her way from Los Angeles to Honolulu in a 20-foot row boat, by text on Saturday. Angela had said she was going to enter the water to complete some maintenance. Deb said she became worried when Angela stopped responding and the US Coast Guard eventually located her body.
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“The [spotter] 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 the Facebook page. The body has now been recovered.
Soraya Simi, who was making a documentary about the crossing, said she was shocked by the news.
“This is the single heaviest moment of my life,” Simi said in a statement to the Southern California News Group. “I am so sorry and so sad to write this. I know so many of you were cheering her on and wanted her to succeed.”
Madsen led a remarkable life. She joined the Marines after her brothers told her she wouldn’t make it in the military. However, she injured her back while playing for the Marines basketball team and errors in the subsequent surgery left her in a wheelchair. Her marriage fell apart afterwards and at one point she lived on the streets.
However, after taking up rowing, Madsen won several gold medals at the world rowing championships. She went on to row across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and also circumnavigated Great Britain in her boat. She started her current journey in April and hoped to complete it in July.
Madsen’s athletics talents were not limited to rowing – she also won a bronze medal in shot put at the 2012 Paralympics in London.
She also set up a program for disabled rowers in California. “I wanted to create an opportunity for people with disabilities to row,” she said. “It’s one of the most inclusive activities people can do. We row three days a week and do it year-round. It’s completely free for people with disabilities.”
Madsen was also active away from the sporting arena. She was a campaigner for LGBTQ rights and was a grand marshal for the Long Beach Pride Parade in 2015
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