Kapene and Smith win gold medals

DIAMOND PERFORMANCE: Harry Hayward, pictured in action at the Gisborne junior championships, was one of the Midway club’s standout performers yesterday, and qualified easily for the under-11 diamond semifinals today. Picture by Paul Rickard

Waikanae junior Chloe Kapene again showed her versatility as a surf athlete when she won a beach sprint gold medal at the Oceans 19 surf lifesaving championships at Mount Maunganui yesterday.

And persistence paid off for her clubmate Oska Smith, who won gold in the under-14 boys’ beach sprint.

Kapene was only five metres away from the gold medal in the u12 girls’ run-swim-run final on Thursday, when she claimed the silver medal.

Her win in the u12 beach sprint final yesterday was close. She won by half a metre.

“Chloe just got faster and faster through the heats, quarters and semifinals, and then nailed the final,” Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae team manager Michelle Mitchell said.

“She was ecstatic afterwards.”

Waikanae’s Smith had competed strongly throughout in the boys’ u14 beach sprint.

He finished second in his heat, then won his quarterfinal and semifinal to qualify for the final.

“Oska won the gold medal in a photo finish over an athlete from Sumner in the South Island,” Mitchell said.

“He was really happy about it. Lots of kids gathered around to congratulate him.”

A weather bomb came through the Mount around 2pm yesterday and the water events were abandoned for the day due to the rain and strong wind, but the beach programme continued.

Standout performances for Dawson Building Midway on Day 2 came in the diamond events.

“Most of them got through the diamond quarterfinals and semifinals,” club juniors coach Jared Phelps said.

“Harry Hayward, in the under-11 boys, was oustanding. He made it look fairly easy.”

Riversun Wainui juniors coach Sonia Keepa said they had teams who qualified for the semifinals of the board rescue and narrowly missed places in the final.

“Amelia Arthur and Charlie Keepa made the semis of the under-11 girls’ sprints,” she said.

“Several of our kids also made the next round of the diamond competition.”

At the close of the Day 2 action yesterday, Omanu led the points tallies with 35. Mount Maunganui had 34, Maranui and Waikanae 14, Mairangi Bay 13, Fitzroy and Westshore 8, East End 7, Whangamata 6, and Wainui and Titahi Bay 5.

Midway had one point, in 19th place out of 45 competing clubs.