Rowing: Wakatipu High flies flag for Otago

The Columba College eight (front) challenges St Peter's (Cambridge) for the lead during the under-18 girls novice final at the Maadi Cup regatta at Lake Ruataniwha yesterday. Columba rowers are (from left) cox Toni Mulholland, Ryelee Breen, Simone Reid, Sasha Holland, Sandy Reid, Brittany Spark, Genevieve Walker-Radich, Courtney Shaw and Alice Young. Columba's silver was its first Maadi Cup medal in 14 years. Photo supplied.

The boys under-17 double sculls of Dylan O'Conner and Jacob Flannery controlled the final 500m to win the title in 6min 57.91sec at Lake Ruataniwha.

The Christchurch Boys' High School pair of Henry Lissaman and Josh Rodger was second in 6min 59.81sec and Te Awamutu was third in 7min 0.82sec.

Wakatipu made it a double when James Ramsay and Hayden Bewley won the B final in 7min 09.60sec. It would have placed them seventh in the A final.

Nina Champion (Wakatipu) won the girls under-17 single sculls B final in 8min 36.05sec. It would have given her sixth place in the A final.

Anna O'Leary (Kavanagh College) is a fighter. She demonstrated this when she came from behind to win a Maadi Cup silver medal yesterday.

O'Leary (15), a member of coach John Parnell's elite sculling squad at the Otago Rowing Club, finished runner-up in the girls under-16 single sculls in 8min 21.20sec. The race was won by Georgie King (Napier Girls) in 8min 20.02sec.

O'Leary was ill at the time of the South Island secondary school championships two weeks ago and missed the regatta.

King went out fast and led by a length at 1000m. She had stretched the lead to one and a-quarter lengths after 1250m.

O'Leary sprinted the last 250m and was catching King at the finish when she reduced the gap to half a length.

The Columba College novice eight of Ryelee Breen (stroke) Simone Reid, Sasha Holland, Sandy Reid, Brittany Spark, Genevieve Walker-Radich, Courtney Shaw, Alice Young and Toni Mulholland (cox) was second in the exhibition eight in 7min 23.30sec.

The race was won by St Peters in 7min 12.03sec and Epsom Girls was third 7min 24.38sec.

It was Columba College's first time on the podium at a Maadi Cup for 14 years. The under-17 girls four won a bronze medal in 2000.

Columba College was also second in the B final in the girls under-16 eight (stroke Sara Griffin).

The Otago Boys' under-16 four (stroke Liam Guthrie) was second in the B final in 7min 07.99sec.

In the B final of the girls under-16 single sculls, Lucy Geddes (Dunstan) was second and Loren Cunningham (Waitaki Girls) third.