Teams master Mount Monster

MONSTER MASTERS: Gisborne surf lifesavers (from left) Rob Fergus, Mike Morrissey and Daniel Williams teamed up with Mt Maunganui’s Damian Galvin (right) to win the masters’ over-30 division of the Mount Monster long-distance race at the Mount on Saturday.Picture supplied

SURF LIFESAVING

SURF lifesavers from the three Gisborne clubs teamed up on Saturday to feature in the teams sections of the gruelling Mount Monster at Mt Maunganui, and two of the teams had wins.

Mike Morrissey and Rob Fergus from Midway, Wainui’s Daniel Williams and Damian Galvin from the Mount won the masters’ over-30 teams section.

Fergus did the five-kilometre beach run, Galvin the 1.5-kilometre swim, Morrissey the 12km ski paddle and Williams the 6km board paddle.

“We beat the second-placed team by three minutes, and finished in two hours and 44 minutes,” Fergus said.

“We all felt great to finish and winning was even better.

“It was great to be able to do it in a team.”

Michelle Mitchell from Waikanae did the ski leg and teamed up with former Gisborne surf lifesaver Naomi Calder and two other Bay of Plenty athletes in the mixed masters.

The master women raced at the same time as the master men.

Mitchell and friends were the first women’s team to finish — third behind the Morrissey-Fergus-Williams-Galvin men’s team.

“I did it last year in a team and didn’t like it much,” Mitchell said.

“But this time the conditions were better, and I knew what I was in for.”

She said everyone from Gisborne who competed did really well.

“They all did phenomenally well and it was so good to have athletes involved from every Gisborne club, competing in what was a really gruelling event.”

Nearly all the team divisions had at least one Gisborne team.

Waikanae’s Brooke Willock (ski) and Maddie Wilson (run) teamed up with Wainui’s Ava Smith (swim) and Hannah King (board) to finish third in the under-19 women’s team event.

“We finished about seven minutes behind first place,” 15-year-old Smith said.

“We were really stoked about it. It was a tough event, but it was fun.

“We are all pretty keen to do it again next year.”

Midway 16-year-olds Ruben Bronlund and Will Pittar competed as individuals, and finished fourth and eighth respectively in the under-19 junior division.

“It was very, very hard, very testing mentally and physically,” Pittar said.

“And it felt so good to cross that finish line.”