Hawke’s Bay’s Olympic games begin - the heat is on for Emma Twigg and Tom Mackintosh

Single sculls hopefuls Tom Mackintosh and Emma Twigg get Hawke’s Bay’s bid for Olympic Games glory under way in the rowing heats on Saturday night.

They are among seven athletes from Hawke’s Bay in the New Zealand team of 195, four of whom are in action within 24 hours of the opening ceremony, which is set to start at 5.30am on Saturday (NZ time).

Emma Twigg at the Lucerne Regatta in Switzerland in May, her last race before the Olympic Games in France. Photo / Photosport

The men’s single sculls heats start at 7pm for Hawke’s Bay rower Mackintosh, who won gold in the eights at the Tokyo Olympic Games and made a successful switch to claim third place in the single sculls at the 2023 World Championships.

Twigg, who won gold at Tokyo and was runner-up at the World Championships, races Hawke’s Bay manufacturer SL Racing’s boat at an Olympics regatta for the first time in her heats, starting at 8.12pm.

Both will be hoping to qualify directly for the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

It’ll be a busy weekend for the two Black Sticks men’s hockey representatives – goalie Dom Dixon and midfielder Sean Findlay – who have the first two of five pool games in seven days.

The winners of the recent Tier 2 tournament the Nations Cup, No 10-ranked New Zealand play No 7 side India at 3.30am on Sunday, and just 24 hours later are up against No 3 side Belgium.