World Masters Games: Bay Olympian hauls in medals

Anne Cairns (right) and runner-up Danelle Snowden of Auckland after their surf ski final. Photo/Supplied

For Hawke's Bay Olympian Anne Cairns the World Masters Games in Auckland were originally pencilled into her diary as a training stint for next month's world distance waka ama championships in Tahiti.

"I paid $350 to enter my kayaking events. Then I discovered I could enter some surf lifesaving events for an extra $50. For that amount of extra money I thought I might as well do every event possible to make it worthwhile and to make it some good training," Cairns recalled while driving home to Dannevirke from Auckland last night.

A Samoan kayaking representative at the Rio Olympics, Cairns, 36, certainly made it worthwhile. She won 17 medals at the Games, 16 golds and one silver, which is a Hawke's Bay record and possibly a world record for an individual at the April 21-30 Games which involved almost 28,000 athletes.

Competing in the 35-40 age group the Ocean Beach Kiwi Surf Lifesaving Club paddler won four golds in surf lifesaving events - the individual surf ski, the surf canoe team, the ocean canoe relay and the ski relay. Cairns was the only Hawke's Bay member of composite crews in these team events.

Representing her country of birth, Samoa - as she has done for the last three years in kayaking events - Cairns, won gold in the 15km ocean ski as well as K1, K2, K4 and K4 mixed 1000m finals, K1, K2 and K2 mixed 200m finals and K1, K2 and K4 500m finals.

"The only silver we got came in the mixed K4 500m final. We were pipped by 0.2 of a second by the Aussies and finished 0.7 of a second ahead of a third placed Russian crew. There was some close racing," Cairns recalled.

"It was my first World Masters Games and I never thought about going until one of the Auckland kayaking girls I know asked me to help make up some crews."

A Palmerston North-based firefighter, Cairns, pointed out there weren't large fields in her events, up to eight in her kayaking finals and up to 17 in surf lifesaving events.

"A lot of women in my age group are looking after families at this stage in their lives. But I still had to push myself and it was a good training week," Cairns said.

The partner of former Magpies rugby loosie Nigel Walshe, Cairns will paddle for the New Zealand Open Women's waka ama team in Tahiti. In October she will be in action at the world rafting championships in Japan and in November there's a good chance she will be among the starters at the Ocean Surf Ski world championships in Hong Kong.

"I'll do some training with Hawke's Bay Kayaking Club coach Ben Bennett to see if I'll be up to it," the humble Cairns said.

At last year's Olympics Cairns just missed out on semifinal berths in the K1 500 and 200m events.

"The K1 200 is my preferred event and I missed out because I was in the fastest heat. There were girls in the semifinal who were five seconds slower than me in their heat and that was a bitter pill to swallow. But I was happy with my performance."

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have already been entered as a long-term goal in her diary.
"Obviously they are a long way down the track. A lot will depend on work commitments and funding," Cairns said.

"In Rio there were only three or four of us in the kayaking who weren't professional. I've been self-funded since 2014 and will have to do it again to get to Tokyo. It's important I don't let that get me down ... I have to focus on my best races and personal bests," she added.

A founding member of the Ocean Beach Kiwi Surf Lifesaving Club, Ben Bennett returned home from Auckland with three golds, three silvers and one bronze from surf ski paddling and marathon and sprint kayaking events. A 65-plus age group competitor, Bennett won gold in the surf ski final as well as his K1 1000m and K1 500m finals.

His silvers were won in the 17km K1 marathon, K1 200m final and ski relay with OBK clubmates Brian Wilson and Greg Larsen. Bennett and Larsen combined to win bronze in their K2 500m final.