Brooke McLachlan, of Hawea Flat, and Eva Small, of Lake Hawea, teamed up with Villa Maria College student Ciara Aitken, also 14, of Christchurch, to form the team, 14 and Fabulous.
They crossed the finish line in first place for their school category (15:24:45), receiving medals and a trophy.
But their quick turn of speed gave them the jump on all 14 other female three-person teams.
Second female team home was the open women’s team Multisport Mums, 17min down, while veteran team Awesome Rehab finished third, about 44min behind 14 and Fabulous.
Brooke McLachlan, daughter of Hawea Flat multisporters Bob McLachlan and Catherine Pattison, credited her parents for preparing her for the race.
She completed the 67km Waimakariri River kayak leg in 5hrs 27min. Her team-mates shared the bike and run legs.
"The river was in perfect condition really. It was quite low which means it takes slightly longer. But the sun was out and it was not windy," Brooke said.
Brooke began kayaking a year ago, just after the 2024 Coast to Coast, training with her dad on lakes Wānaka and Hawea, and on the Hawea and Clutha rivers.
"I had to learn to kayak from scratch. Then there were all the cold winter mornings, the cold fingers, the cold hands," she said.
Race day "definitely went a lot faster because I was focusing more. Having all the other people [on the water] makes it harder to pick your own line and everyone wants to go the same way".
Crossing the Christchurch finish line with Eva and Ciara was a high point.
"We were definitely not expecting to win. We were just happy we finished. I would like to do it again. It is quite addictive," she said.
For Eva, a talented skier, the Coast to Coast race followed an action-packed summer overseas, competing internationally for the first time.
She was fourth in the under-18 event of the 2025 YETI Freeride Junior World Championships in Kappl, Austria and second in the under-18 event at 3 star Junior Freeride World Tour competition at Silvretta Montafon.
At the Coast to Coast, Eva did the 33km mountain run on day one and a 15km bike leg on day 2, while Ciara Aitken took care of 55km bike ride at the Kumara start and the 70km ride into Christchurch finish.
