Oamaru waited 50 years to produce a second senior national rowing champion - and Jo Kearney does not intend to make the town wait as long again.
The 20-year-old is confident a bout of glandular fever will not derail her dreams of winning more red coats and making it all the way to the Olympics.
Kearney has made the difficult decision to take an entire summer off the water to get back to full health.
''Two months ago, I got glandular fever and it really knocked me back,'' she told the Otago Daily Times.
''I just found that my body wouldn't let me train properly. I just couldn't keep up.
''Rowing is such a competitive sport. You're always trying to push yourself to the edge, push yourself to fail. And I just wasn't able to push that hard.''
She will miss the national championships and the chance to qualify for the New Zealand under-23 squad for a third straight year.
But the former St Kevin's College pupil is adamant this spell off the water will not put a major halt on her rising career.
''A lot of rowers have come through setbacks like this. It's about getting back into it when I feel ready, and then getting up to speed.
''It's just a matter of time. I hope to start training in winter and then compete next summer.
''Time is on my side. It's a real bugger, but it's probably the best time it could happen.
''I'd set quite ambitious goals for the season, but I couldn't see myself achieving them. I guess that made the decision easier, in some ways.''
Kearney was thankful for the support and guidance she had received from her coaches, fellow rowers and family.
Health must come first - that was the overall message - and she would simply have to be patient in her bid to maintain her impressive rise in the sport.
She won three age-group gold medals at the national championships in 2013, and stepped up this year to win a senior title as part of the Southern premier eight. That gave her the first red coat for an Oamaru rower since the magnificent men of the coxed four in 1962, who also won Empire Games gold that year.
Kearney also helped the New Zealand coxless four claim silver at the world under-23 championships in Italy this year, following the bronze she won in 2013.
She will still be eligible for the under-23 squad in 2016. Making the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro that year is probably a step too far, but she will only be 26 in 2020.
There is huge incentive to get back to full health and return to the warm - if demanding - community of New Zealand elite rowing in Cambridge.
''It's amazing up there. We all train together, so you find yourself racing against people like Mahe Drysdale. That's just incredible.
''You just see the hard work that goes in to all the New Zealand team's success.''
For now, it is time for a rare summer break: a few sleep-ins, catching up with family on the farm near Oamaru, a summer job, and completing a business paper through Massey.
Kearney is easing back into exercise with some swimming - and eagerly awaits a return to the top of the water in the winter.
