New Zealand’s rising rowers bounced back from a tough start to reach the podium at the world under-23 championships. The New Zealand eight of Oliver Leach, Dylan McConnell, Matthew Glen, Sam Woodgate, Nic Bryan, Josh Syme, Ted Mayne — who rows for the Otago University and Avon — Luke Hickling and cox Hunter Rowland won bronze. They finished in 5min 34.98sec in Duisburg, Germany, on Sunday. New Zealand came through the first 500m in last place before they ramped up. By the halfway point, they had made up plenty of ground to get themselves into fourth then made a big surge through the back end to secure a podium finish. Six-time defending champions Great Britain held off the challenge from the United States to win in 5min 31.94sec, while the US settled for silver in 5min 32.98sec. The New Zealand eight won silver last year, also under coach Calvin Ferguson. He has high hopes for the young crew, which contains a blend of New Zealand-based rowers and US college athletes. ”You put a lot of energy into these guys,” Calvin told Rowing NZ. “You just hope they do really well because it’s not just about the outcome but also the experience because they want to come back next year.” Most of the crew have at least two more years of under-23 eligibility. Madison Neale, who rows for Dunstan, Emma Bagrie, Tegan O’Dwyer and Harriet Thompson, who rows for Otago University and Washington State University, finished sixth in the women’s quad in 6min 45.84sec. The men’s quad of Clayton Potts and Dunstan trio Fynn Allison, Mathew King and Jack Pearson finished fourth in the men’s quad sculls C final in 6min 6.23sec.
