Action packed morning of finals at the Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships
Lake Karapiro was hit by four seasons in one day during a jam-packed first half of the scheduled penultimate day of action the 2016 Bankstream Rowing Championships.
With beautiful calm waters greeting the rowers earlier this morning, it presented the perfect opportunity to play catch up following the cancellation of all of yesterday’s scheduled finals.
However just before lunchtime the conditions deteriorated as a series of showers and strengthening wind swept across Lake Karapiro before the weather cleared once again.
Competing in the worst of the conditions, World lightweight single sculls champion Adam Ling needed a late surge to retain his national lightweight title in a time of 8:40.51.
Ling left it late to edge a titantic tussle from his fellow Waikato RPC scullers Toby Cunliffe-Steel (8:42.54) and Matthew Dunham (8:44.43), but he was elated with the result.
“To win in my new boat – I’m pretty happy with that,” says Ling. “It is always good to beat the people you train with as it gives you bragging rights,” says Ling.
“When you are used to racing for seven minutes but then have to race for nine minutes you have to pace yourself and bide your time. I just had to row as cleaning as I could and when I realised I was in touch, I always back myself with a good sprint.”
Just like in the men’s lightweight single sculls the women’s event also witnessed a reigning world champion work hard for the win as Zoe McBride successfully defended her national title.
McBride was pushed hard by her fellow Central RPC rower Sophie McKenzie, but prevailed by a little over six seconds in 8:50.42 – a slightly flattering victory margin after McKenzie caught a crab just metres from the finish line. Lucy Jonas of Auckland RPC rounded out the podium in a time of 8:58.47.
“It was survival of the fitness and I just tried to stay calm and not catch any crabs,” says McBride. “It is on to the trials, but I feel in a lot better position than last year because I feel I’ve technically come a long way.”
Waikato RPC blitzed to victory in the first premier final of the championships earning a comfortable win by more than nine seconds from Southern RPC in the women’s quad sculls.
It was a particularly sweet moment for World Under-23 double sculls silver medallists Brooke Donoghue and Claudia Hyde – two members of the triumphant crew who secured their first red coat.
“It is really special because over the years we’ve seen so many girls win a red coat and it is a great to follow the heroes that have gone before me,” says Donoghue, who featured Hyde, Sarah Gray and Georgia Perry in the winning boat.
Southern RPC clinched victory by more than three-and-a-half seconds from defending champions Central RPC in the final of men’s premier quadruple sculls with the combination of Nathan Flannery, Jade Uru, George Bridgewater and John Storey proving too strong.
For Storey it was the perfect start to a busy next couple of days, which will also see him compete in the finals of both the premier double and single sculls.
“It is my first national sculling title, so it is nice to get one under the belt,” he says. “I took a year off in 2012 and coming back in 2013 I was a bit off the pace, but the aim this year is to go well in Rio.”
Outside of the premier events there was a clutch of outstanding performances led by a composite team comprising three clubs from the Bay of Plenty region, who claimed a memorable win in the final of the women’s club eight.
A collaborative of the Bay of Plenty Coast, Rotorua and Tauranga rowing clubs put together by Mark Elphick, the Rowing CoachForce officer for Bay of Plenty, clearing worked a charm as the combination triumphed from home favourites Cambridge Rowing Club by a little under two seconds.
Gold winning member Rosemary van der Velden of the Rotorua Rowing Club says the crew has only come together for three training sessions prior to nationals, but the combination gelled perfectly when it counted.
“It was a great idea to form the composite team and it has helped build the relationships between the different Bay of Plenty clubs,” says Van der Velden. “We have become great friends and it has been a lot of fun. We have some strong girls in the crew and it just clicked.”
A scheduled 12 hours of action at Lake Karapiro was kick-started by victory for Ollie Stephens, who was crowned the first champion of the 2016 edition of the Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships by claiming an impressive two-length victory in the men’s under-20 single sculls final.
Georgia Allen led home a Waikato RPC 1-2-3 to edge a thrilling victory by just 0.67 from Luka Ellery in the women’s under-20 single sculls final. Ellery led at the 1000m mark but a late charge from Allen earned the 19-year-old Hamilton-based athlete a one place improvement on her performance 12 months ago.
Waikato RPC’s Jack Parry dismantled the opposition to add the national under-22 single sculls title to the under-20 crown he won 12 months ago. The 2015 World Under-23 quadruple sculls silver medallist, who enjoyed a victory margin of more than six seconds from Jack O’Leary (Waikato RPC), said: “It is a great feeling to win and it sets me up well for the under-23 trials.”
Among some of the other morning finals Waikato Rowing Club prevailed in the final of the men’s club eight with a 2.37 second victory from Avon Rowing Club. Meanwhile, the Central RPC sister act of Ella and Holly Greenslade clinched the women’s under-22 coxless pairs title to defeat their nearest pursuers –the RPC Auckland crew - by almost three seconds.
The Avon club duo of Dacey Caldwell and Fred Coughlan scored a near three-second victory in the men’s club coxless pairs from Waikato Rowing Club. Other noteworthy winners were the Whangarei Rowing Club combination of Steely Olsen and Tim Pearce, who claimed a resounding victory by more than eight seconds in the men’s novice double sculls final.
Petone RC were the fastest qualifiers for tomorrow’s final of the under-19 women’s coxed four recording a time of 9:08.08. Meanwhile, the most emphatic champion of the morning was Hannah Osborne (Waikato RPC), who enjoyed a victory margin of just a little over 30 seconds to take the women’s under-22 single sculls title.
Waikato Rowing Club claimed victory by a little over one-and-a-half lengths to take victory in the senior men’s coxless four from the Kaiapoi-based Cure Rowing Club.
To follow later today will be the finals of the men’s and women’s premier pairs, double sculls as well as the coxless four events.
For results from the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships: http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/results