Rowing: Bruce picks up first medal for Otago

Riley Bruce won Otago's first and (so far) only medal of the Maadi Cup regatta on Lake Karapiro yesterday.

The Mt Aspiring College pupil won silver in the first medal race of the regatta - the boys under-17 single sculls - barely missing out on gold to Braeden Camp (St Peter's College) by 0.30sec.

Bruce crossed the line in 7min 22.22sec, significantly faster than his semifinal time of 7min 31.62sec on Thursday.

Woody Kirkwood (John McGlashan) was also in the final, but failed to fire and had to settle for eighth place.

Juliette Alm-Lequeux and Karley Widen-Palms (Otago Girls') were the only other Otago rowers who came close to getting on the podium in A finals yesterday.

The pair crossed the line fourth in the girls under-18 double sculls final, 3.14sec behind third placed Alice Pallister and Rose McEwan (Rangiora High School), who clocked 7min 29.56sec.

With just one day left in the six-day regatta, in which 149 pupils from 12 Otago schools have competed, there is still hope for more medals today.

Mark Taylor and James Scott (Waitaki Boys' High School) are probably the biggest chance of winning gold when they line up in the boys under-17 double sculls final this morning.

The pair convincingly won their semifinal on Thursday to qualify second-fastest for the final behind Ben Monaghan and Eddie Brownie (Huanui College).

Taylor will also look to medal in the boys under-16 single sculls final, but will have to get past Bradley Leydon (John McGlashan), who impressed earlier in the week.

Bruce will be seeking a second medal in the boys under-18 single sculls, but will need to better his outstanding effort yesterday.

Dunstan High School's Macaela Turfus will have a couple of shots at medals today. She will contest the girls under-18 lightweight double sculls with Sydney Cook, before combining with Lucy Geddes in the girls under-17 double sculls decider.

Among other Otago crews racing for medals today are the Otago Boys' under-17 coxed four, the John McGlashan under-17 coxed quadruple sculls, Columba College's under-18 novice coxed four and the Waitaki Boys' under-18 novice coxed four.

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