Thrilling day of finals at the Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships
Tom Murray and Jamie Hunter served up the highlight of the penultimate day of the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships with a thrilling defeat of Hamish Bond and James Lassche in the final of the men's premier pair. Seeking a hat-trick of titles many anticipated Bond and Lassche would again secure victory, but nobody told Murray and Hunter, who started aggressively and quickly established control of the race.
Predictably Bond – who was chasing a ninth successive gold medal in this event – and Lassche responded, but Murray and Hunter of Central RPC bravely held on to claim a memorable win by 1.04 seconds and reverse the finishing positions from 12 months ago.
“I always wanted to win a Red Coat and to do so in the pair and to dominate from the start is just amazing,” says Murray. “It is great for the confidence heading into the trials. We've had a really good feeling in the boat when we've raced together, the expectation was to be competitive but to come away with the win is amazing.”
Hunter was similarly elated with the success adding: “We're very happy. It is no secret we have wanted this one for a while. James and I come quite close two or three weeks ago and we are very happy.”
Mario Gyr and Simon Schuerch of the Swiss High Performance Squad placed third.
In the women's pair, Grace Prendergast and Emma Dyke produced an quality display to strike gold by a four-second margin from Central RPC duo Rebecca Scown and Fiona Paterson. The event winners from Southern RPC dominated the race to stop the clock in a time of 7:29.38 with Kerri Gowler and Ruby Tew placing third just 0.07 down on Scown and Paterson in a tight scrap for the minor medals.
Both premier double sculls title were secured by the pre-event favourites as Robbie Manson and Chris Harris and Zoe Stevenson and Georgia Perry produced masterful performances in their respective finals..
Manson and Harris, the 2015 World bronze medallists, exerted control of the race from the outset running out victors in a time of 7:05.00 . Some 4.89 seconds further back were the silver medallists George Bridgewater and John Storey (Southern RPC), both of whom had collected gold medals earlier today in the men's premier quadruple sculls.
For the race winners from Central RPC it was a nice confidence boost leading into trials. “It is hugely important for me us because we were the (New Zealand) double from last year,” says Manson. “So in terms of putting in a performance, it is massively important.”
The medal podium was rounded out by the second Southern RPC boat of Jade Uru and Nathan Flannery in 7:14.53.
Stevenson and Perry were similarly dominant in the distaff version of the premier double sculls, triumphing by a victory margin of 4.65 seconds from Brook Donoghue and Claudia Hyde (Waikato RPC), who shaded a close battle for third by just 0.57 from the Swiss High Performance duo Patricia Merz and Jeannine Gemlin.
Perry was elated to collect what was her second gold medal of the day following her earlier success in the quadruple sculls. “I was really happy, we stuck to our race place and stayed calm,” says Perry. “I'm happy with nationals and now I'm ready for trials.”
In the men's premier lightweight pair, Jared Van Vianen and Oliver Tyro (Southern) produced a resounding display to win by then 11 seconds from Jake Guy and Zak Everitt (Auckland RPC). For Van Vianen – who last year rowed with Bryce Abernethy - it was his second successive title.
The crowd was treated to an exhilarating men's premier four final as the Waikato RPC containing Curtis Rapley, Eric Murray, Alex Kennedy and Shaun Kirkham edged a quality Swiss High Performance squad team by just 0.79 to take a narrow victory.
The Southern RPC with the Bond brothers – Hamish and Alistair – James Lassche and Cameron Crampton had to settle for third in 6:15.07 – some 3.17 seconds adrift of the gold medallists.
Kirkham said of the win: “It is a refreshing break because we get to sit in boats we don't normally work with. We struggled in the heat but the fun part is we were able to pull it together today.”
In the women's premier coxless fours final, the Central RPC quartet of Kerri Gowler, Fiona Paterson, Holly Greenslade and Ruby Tew claimed a clear win by a little over three seconds from the RPC Southern crew.
For Gowler crossing the line first gave her the honour of her first Red Coat and for Greenslade it was her second gold medal of the day having earlier triumphed in the women's under-22 coxless pairs alongside her sister, Ella. “I worked hard in the summer and it has been a really cool day – I hope to finish it off tomorrow in the eight,” she says. “I've learned a lot competing with the premier crew and it is a really good opportunity to see where I am at ahead of trials.”
Outside of the premier class, RPC Central bagged the women's under-22 coxless four title by a little under two-and-a-half seconds from RPC Southern. In the men's under-22 coxless quadruple sculls RPC Central were victorious by 1.50 seconds from RPC Waikato.
In the men's senior single sculls event Troy O'Reilly (Petone) edged a narrow battle from Luke Watts (Aramoho-Wanganui) while the Otago University duo of Hazel Cunliffe and Natasha Bonham-Carter struck gold in the women's club pairs.
Issac Robertson (Avon Rowing Club) was an decisive victor in the mens club single sculls.
A further seven premier and lightweight finals will highlight the concluding day of finals action at the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships tomorrow.
Among one of the most eagerly anticipated events will be the final of the premier men's single sculls with Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale pursuing a ninth national title in the event. He will face strong opposition led for the fastest qualifier for today's final, John Storey, who has already banked one gold medal here this week as a member of the triumphant Southern RPC crew in the men's premier quadruple sculls.
The final of the women's single sculls will also make for compelling viewing as 2014 world champion Emma Twigg attempts to regain the title she owned for a six-year spell from 2009 to 2014. Defending champion Lucy Spoors (Southern RPC) and Sarah Gray (Waikato RPC) and Eve Macfarlane (Southern RPC) will be among her chief opposition.
Other finals to relish tomorrow include the men's and women's premier eight. In the former version Waikato RPC will be seeking a hat-trick of titles. Meanwhile, in the women's eight Southern RPC will be seeking to extend their sequence of success to six straight victories.
For results from the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships: http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/results