Gold, silver and bronze for Gisborne

CHAMPIONS AGAIN: The Wainui master women’s canoe team, with a combined age of over 200 years, made it back-to-back New Zealand masters titles in their age division at the national surf lifesaving championships at Mount Maunganui. They are (from left) Sophie Burns, Moira Lee, Carolyn Hodgkinson and Anelia Evans.File picture

SURF LIFESAVING

GOLD medals to the Wainui women in the surf canoe and to Waikanae sprinter Debbie Hutchings in her two events were highlights of the Gisborne clubs’ results in the New Zealand masters surf lifesaving championships at Mount Maunganui yesterday.

Gisborne woman Arna Majstrovic (nee Wright), competing for the Mount club to which she previously belonged, also had a great day.

Majstrovic was first in the 30-to-34 ironwoman and the beach sprint, second in the board and beach flags, and fourth in the ski and surf race.

The Riversun Wainui canoe crew of Moira Lee, Sophie Burns, Anelia Evans and Carolyn Hodgkinson recorded two firsts and a second in their three-race series to win their canoe title.

They won it in Gisborne last year, and before that in 2014 at their first attempt.

“We really had to work for it this year, but the girls are really happy about the win,” Hodgkinson said.

The Wainui men’s team had a disappointing day.

Team member Salve Zame said they had a gear issue in the first race, won the second, and then got hit by another canoe that broached on a wave in the third race.

One of the crew, Matt Logan, needed stitches to a head injury received in the collision.

The crew finished fifth overall.

Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae speedster Hutchings won the 45-to-49-year beach flags and beach sprint for another year.

She has dominated those events in her age group for close to a decade.

Wainui’s Sonia Keepa took the silver medals in the same division in the flags and in the sprint.

She finished third in the run-swim-run and fourth in the board.

The three-day national interclub championships started this morning at the Mount.

Gisborne clubs Waikanae, Midway and Wainui have multiple medal chances.