Masters success for Wairarapa athletes

Masterton duo Rod Sutherland and Don Wickens were among a number of Wairarapa identities to taste success at the New Zealand Masters Games in Wanganui.
Sutherland, competing in the 60-64yrs age group, demonstrated his versatility by winning gold medals in both the multisport and duathlon events as well as two kayaking races, the 1000m and the 10kms.He also picked up silver medals in the kayaking 500m and the cycling 24km time trial.
For Sutherland his medal haul was the culmination of three months of hard training, which included cycling up to 300kms per week and paddling most mornings for between 60 to 90 minutes.
It was his silver medal in the cycling time trial which gave Sutherland his most satisfaction
He was seeded eighth in the 18-strong field that contested his age group and far exceeded his own expectations with his placing.
"I'm more of a broken down runner than a cyclist so to get second was very satisfying", he quipped.
In the end he was only 58secs behind the gold medal winner, recording a time of 39mins 12secs.
Sutherland, who contested six events in seven days, said the hot weather had added to the demands of such an arduous programme with many competitors in the duathlon and multisport events being reduced to a walk. His time in the multisport race placed him third overall and he was 14 th overall out of 120 in the duathlon
Don Wickens, who turned 70 at the weekend, won the gold medal in the 60yrs and over division of the snooker competition, making the biggest break of 31 along the way..
He dropped only the one frame all tournament and that was in the semi-final when he went from trailing 0-1 to winning 2-1.
Wickens, who had finished runner-up in the same division two years previously, then played Dave McKersey of Hawke's Bay in the decider, and won that game comfortably at 2-0.
Walking good distances on a twice daily basis was part of the Wickens training regime leading into the Wanganui event , the idea being to have him in peak condition from both a mental and physical viewpoint.
"Keeping your concentration is vital and fitness plays a big part in that", he said.
Several other Wairarapa competitiors made their presence felt in a big way at Wanganui as well.
Among them was Peter Tearle who won gold medals in the men's 70 to 74yrs 5km and 10km walks while Kay Davenport also won walking golds over both those distances as well as a gold in the 3000m track walk and a silver in the hop, step and jump.
Judy Brown was placed second in her age group in the women's javelin and third in the cycling time trial and was also part of the Wairarapa Tuis team which placed third in the women's hockey..
The latter effort was a huge one as the Tuis played five games in five days.
Also part of the Tuis line-up was Sally Groves who also gained a bronze medal in the women's 40 to 44yrs kayaking 10km event and the women's javelin while Pam Workman won gold medals in the women's 50 to 54yrs 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly swimming events.
Stephen Brown, competing in the men's 40-44yrs grade, placed fifth in both his cycle races, the 24km time trial and the 60km road race.