YMP strike gold, again

Racing to the top: YMP walked away with gold again in the intermediate boys division at the waka ama nationals at Lake Karapiro. The team from front to back are Reia Paenga-Morgan, Makauri Hape, Taniora Waitai, Maiangi Windybank, Roger Wihongi, Te Oranga Ngatahi Hape. Picture by Eric Garrick

The youngest of the big three Tairāwhiti waka ama clubs took centre stage at Lake Karapiro yesterday.

Rukupo, the YMP Waka Ama male intermediate team, won the W6 500-metre race (with a turn) in the second-last race of the day.

It was a fitting finale to three days of exciting junior racing in the Waka Ama New Zealand National Sprint Championships.

Single-seat paddlers were in action today and the senior (J19 up) team racing starts tomorrow and finishes on Saturday.

Yesterday's success for Rukupo followed their second placing in Monday's W6 500m straight sprint, when they finished 4.93 seconds behind winners Pineula Boom Bullets, of Akarana.

Yesterday, Rukupo recorded a time of 2 minutes 51.56 seconds — 6.42 seconds faster than third-placed Pineula and 5.21s faster than runners-up Emore, of Turangawaewae Waka Sports, who were third in Monday's race.

The other two clubs who train on the city rivers, Self Storage Gisborne Horouta Waka Hoe and Mareikura Waka Ama Club, were fourth and fifth respectively in yesterday's turn race, in which teams do a U-turn at the 250-metre point.

YMP also had a gold-medal performance on Monday, when Pipiwhakao won the Taitamahine (midget girls) W6 250m championship final, and had teams in several other finals.

Horouta had a busy day in the finals yesterday.

In the female intermediate W12 500m, their Hinepukohurangi crew were second, in 2:25.77, just over a second behind the Manukau club winners. Also in the final, YMP's Whakato-Ohako crew were fifth in 2:39.22.

In the W6 500m (with a turn) in the same division, Hinepukorangi were second, in 3:02.55. Clubmates Titirangi Drifters were third in 3:09.28. Whakato (YMP) were fourth in 3:14.17. A team from Te Toki Voyaging Trust won the race in 2:56.95.

Tama ki te Rangi (Horouta) were second in the final of the J16 men's W6 1000m (with three turns) in a time of 5:15.89. They were just under 15 seconds behind winners Pineula Taurea Red, the team they beat in winning gold in the 500m final on Monday.

Mullets & Mohawks (Horouta) were third in the male intermediate W12 500m final, in 2:36.65.

YMP team Ruku-I-Te-Po were fourth in 2:39.12 and Waka Ama Kahungunu, of Te Uranga o Te Ra, were seventh in 2:43.14.

Mareikura crew Robs Mob were sixth in the J16 men's W12 500m final in 2:26.33, and the club's Mareikura Puna Ariki crew were fifth in the J16 women's W12 500m final in 2:21.71, missing a medal by 3.7 seconds.

YMP crew Puketapu were eighth in the final of the J16 women's W6 1000m (with turns) in a time of 6:21.28.