Her performance on the water was good but the glittering tag came from the silver jacket she was wearing .
It reflected the sun and could be seen from all points from the harbour frontage.
''I wanted to wear silver to reflect the 25 years of the New Zealand Masters Games,'' Ockwell said.
''They encouraged us to dress up and wear silver. I like the sparkles on the water.''
Ockwell (51) won the women's aged 50 to 59 200m sprint gold medal in 2min 16sec and came runner-up in the 3km in 31min 46sec.
That race, in which Ockwell's result reflected the colour of her jacket, was won by Teresa Dunn (Dunedin) in 25min 29sec.
''It was a long way out there in the strong cross breeze,'' Ockwell said.
It was the first time she had raced in any sport since leaving St Thomas' school in Oamaru.
Ockwell works for the Dunedin City Council and had a busy day at work on Wednesday.
''But every now and then in a down moment I thought 'Jeepers, I've got my race tomorrow'. Yes, I was a bit nervous,'' she admitted.
Her husband, Geoff, sprained his left wrist water skiing on Stewart Island in December and had to confine his efforts to cheering for his wife from the sidelines.
Dunedin's Suzi Flack (49), a laboratory scientist, has only been paddle boarding for two years but this did not stop her from dominating the women's event in her first competitive outing on the board.
She was a convincing winner of the 200m sprint in 1min 42sec and also dominated the 3km she won in 22min 36sec.
She competed in the women's 40 to 49 age group.
''I am happy. It was fast and quick,'' she said.
''I normally just paddle for recreation and I was a bit nervous beforehand.''
Flack lives at Karitane with her husband, Geoff, and they train on the estuarary.
She was a member of the first Otago women's waka crew that competed at the national championships on Lake Karapiro last month. They finished eighth.
''We try to catch some waves on the river bar but mostly I'm training novices. We have a waka club out there so we try to get people on the water.''
Bruce Manning (50) was a convincing winner of the men's paddle board double in the age 50 to 59 class.
He won the 200m in 1min 14sec and the 3km in 18min 39sec.
Tony Limburg (58), the owner of Water Cooled Sports, was runner-up in both races. He was timed at 1min 22sec for the sprint and 19min 2sec for the 3km.
The best kayaking performance came from Brendan O'Neill, who won the 200m sprint in 52sec.
O'Neill (55) has been kayaking since the age of 14 and formed the Otago Kayaking Club in 2010.
Former manager of St Clair Salt Water Pool Graeme Newton won the men's aged 60 to 69 200m sprint in 58sec.
Veteran Bart Smaill won the over age 70 sprint in 1min 14sec.
