Games: Double gold delights student

TRIPLE DELIGHT: Medallists Brooke Wedgwood (left), Amy Martin and Brianna Otto. PHOTO/Paul Taylor

Mention perfect consolation to Hawke's Bay BMX rider Amy Martin and she will reply two gold medals.

The 15-year-old Iona College Year 10 student's two golds won at the International Children's Games (ICG) which ended in Port Macquarie on Thursday helped dilute the disappointment Martin experienced when she crashed out of the August world championships in Rotterdam at the quarter-final stage. One of three Hawke's Bay medal winners at the six-day Games which involved more than 1500 12-15-year-olds Martin won gold in a 15-competitor time trial by 0.2 of a second and her race final which followed three motos by five lengths.

"This was my one and only opportunity to compete at these Games so I made the most of it," Martin, the country's No 1 ranked rider in her age group, explained.

Martin will be hoping for similar success when she returns to Australia later this month as a member of the New Zealand team for a test series against the Aussies. She spent most of yesterday catching up on sleep because she has five races in Cambridge today and another five in Te Awamutu tomorrow.

In Rotterdam in August Martin and another competitor went into a corner together and the other rider's elbow was on top of Martin's handlebars which prevented her from turning.

Martin rode into her, face planted and rolled.

Napier Girls High School students and Napier Sailing Club clubmates Brianna Otto and Brooke Wedgwood were Hawke's Bay's other medal winners in Port Macquarie. Otto, 15, won bronze in the single handed Optimist division. She has been sailing for eight years and will move up to the Starling class with the aim of competing at the New Plymouth-hosted nationals in April. Wedgwood, 15, captured bronze in a five-strong single handed laser division.

Both Otto and Wedgwood had nine races over three days. Austrian Yannis Sajie who won gold in Wedgwood's division, competed at the Napier-hosted world Optimist championships in 2012.

Wedgwood beat Sajie in all three races on the final day and was close to a silver medal.

"The highlight for Brooke and Brianna was beating the Aussies on their own water," Otto's father and sailing contingent coach Philipp Otto said.

But in the true spirit of the Games as soon as the serious racing was done everyone got on so well and it was awesome to see Brooke and one of the Aussies sailing together in a double-handed boat," he said.

He pointed out the Napier City Council facilitated Hawke's Bay contingent was the first New Zealand team to compete in the Games since they began in 1968. These ICG Games were the first in the southern hemisphere.

"There are plans to stage the Games in Napier in 2018 and this would be extraordinary. To keep in the running for these it is hoped a Hawke's Bay team will compete at next year's Games in the Netherlands," he added.

Hawke's Bay was also represented in swimming and football in Port Macquarie.