PARIS – Stanford affiliates Skyler Espinoza and Jeff Butler are set to compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games, which get underway this weekend in Paris.
A member of Stanford’s lightweight rowing team from 2017-18 who later rejoined the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator prior to the 2019-20 season, Espinoza will be competing as a member of the United States Para-Cycling team in her Paralympics debut. Specializing in track cycling and competing in the WB class, Espinoza and partner Hannah Chadwick have experienced a meteoric rise in the sport since they made their first major international appearance as a team at the 2023 UCI Para-Cycling World Championships, where they took bronze in the sprint. They also teamed for a Parapan American Games title this past winter in Santiago, Chile.
Espinoza competed on The Farm in her final year of eligibility after graduating from Barnard College at Columbia University, where she rowed for three seasons. Espinoza earned her master's at Stanford in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, while helping the Cardinal to an IRA national championship.
Butler (MBA ’23 from the Stanford Graduate School of Business) is a two-time Paralympic silver medalist on Team USA's wheelchair rugby team from Rio 2016 (team – mixed) and Tokyo 2020 (team – mixed). Butler also captured a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships.
The opening weekend of competition in Paris begins Friday.