The winners of the premier singles titles came unstuck when they chased second gold medals within a couple of hours of their first success on the opening day of finals at the New Zealand championships at Lake Ruataniwha yesterday.
Both Ben Mason, a product of Otago Boys’ High School, and Avon clubmate Shannon Cox had high hopes of making it double delight, but close rivals had other ideas.
Mason could do no better than sixth in the under-22 final after streeting the field a couple of hours earlier in the premier race.
Wairau’s Kobe Miller prevailed in the age category final in 7min 13.57sec, less than a second ahead of clubmate Reuben Cook, another Otago Boys’ product.
In the premier race, Mason was out in front at the 500m mark and simply kept his foot down, winning by almost 5sec from West End’s Chris Stockley with Waikato’s Toby Cunliffe-Steel third a further 2sec back.
Cox, from Whangarei but now based in Christchurch, was a good winner of the premier women’s single in 8min 3.41sec, heading home Waikato’s Sophie Egnot-Johnson by 3sec.
Cox, eyeing a lightweight spot in the New Zealand squad for the Paris Olympics in 2024, reckons although this is a national regatta like no other, thanks to Covid restrictions, people are adapting pretty well.
"Everyone is feeling a little bit differently about how the nationals are. But it’s about trying to keep focused and keep our head in the game."
She had to settle for second in the senior women’s double with Becky Tuke, 3sec behind Petone’s Mackenzie Tuffin and Ella Livingston.
The day began strongly for the small Dunstan Arm club based at the lake near Clyde, who won both the club double sculls titles.
Jack Pearson and Aaron Maxwell won the men’s double, and Holly Dalzell and Siena Snow the women’s.
Dunstan Arm won three more gold medals yesterday, in the women’s club eight, senior coxless quad and intermediate eight.
The Oamaru club won three medals. The club’s men’s intermediate and novice eights each claimed silver, and the women’s novice coxed four grabbed bronze.
A contender for best finish of the day came in the men’s senior four, where Auckland’s West End pipped Avon by a blink — 6min 23.26sec to 6min 23.39sec.
There was another thriller in the men’s senior eight, where West End (5min 57.5sec) squeezed out Waikato (5min 58.85sec) with Avon third close behind.
Dunstan Arm’s Ged Wall picked up silver in the club double along with Harry Wilkinson — only to be pipped by little sister Isabel Wall, rowing for Ashburton, who won the open single scull para over 1000.
The regatta for this remarkable young athlete finishes today in the intermediate women’s single scull for able-bodied rowers.
Waikato won the premier coxless four at the end of the day, while Avon collected the celebrated Boss Rooster trophy, as comfortable winners of the men’s premier coxless four, in 6min 17.77.sec.
Its remaining task was to paint the trophy in its club colours, an annual ritual, but certainly not a chore.
