AMMANFORD para rower Benjamin Pritchard has defied the odds to win a silver medal at the European Championships – despite having to recover from injury and catching coronavirus. Pritchard was diagnosed with Covid-19 just before Christmas, and although he only suffered mild symptoms, it impacted on his recovery time, having undergone arm surgery a month earlier. The 29-year-old, however, has battled back to fitness to finish second in the PR1 men s single sculls in Varese, Italy, behind defending Paralympic, World and European Champion Roman Polianskyi. “The decision for me to fly was only made on the Monday afternoon, it was touch and go and we didn t know if I was competing,” revealed Pritchard, who is a former cyclist and triathlete.