California Paralympian Angela Madsen dies rowing alone across Pacific Ocean

By Gary Metzker, Contributing writer Long Beach’s Angela Madsen, a three-time Paralympian and U.S. Marine veteran, has died while trying to become the first paraplegic, first openly gay athlete and oldest woman to row across the Pacific Ocean, her wife said Tuesday, June 23. She was 60. Madsen set out from Marina del Rey in a 20-foot rowboat in April with the goal of reaching the Hawaii Yacht Club, in Honolulu, within four months. Deb Madsen, the rower’s wife, said in a Tuesday Facebook post that Angela Madsen sent her a text message on Saturday night, June 20. But on Sunday, Angela Madsen was not responding to her wife’s messages, Deb Madsen said. A Monday update on the RowofLife Facebook...