Olympics 2024: Whanganui rowing sisters on the podium in Paris

The New Zealand women's four, Davina Waddy (left), Kerri Williams, Jackie Gowler and Phoebe Spoors with their bronze medals. Photo / Photosport

The Aramoho-Whanganui Rowing Club has made the podium at Paris 2024, thanks to Olympians Jackie Gowler and Kerri Williams.

The sisters, along with Davina Waddy and Phoebe Spoors, made up the New Zealand women’s four who won bronze on Thursday night (NZT).

They pipped Romania by 0.44 seconds, with Great Britain securing silver and the Netherlands taking the gold.

Aramoho-Whanganui club secretary Grader Howells said about 50 people were at the club to watch the race on Thursday night.

“Some of the more senior school students were there cheering heartily with us,” he said.

“It’s just inspirational for them to see what can be achieved out of rowing on the Whanganui River.”

Club coach Axel Dickinson said the New Zealand four were “massive outsiders” to reach the podium, but they had been tracking well all season.

“The Romanians are such amazing sprinters that I thought they needed at least a third of a length going into the last 500m,” he said.

“They held on, which is something really special.”

He said there were kids watching the races on Thursday who had every chance of replicating the sisters’ success in the years to come.

Dickinson spent years training alongside Gowler and Williams (nee Gowler) during his time at NZ Rowing’s Regional Performance Centre.

“They are amazing girls — tough, hearty competitors,” he said.

“It’s a great symbol for the club to have them competing on the biggest stage. We are really proud.”

Whanganui Rowing president, Olympian and former world champion Philippa Baker-Hogan said Williams now had the full set of Olympic medals — gold, silver and bronze.

Williams, who won the women’s pair with Grace Prendergast at Tokyo 2020, remains Whanganui’s first and only female Olympic gold medallist in any sport.

The sisters were also members of the women’s eight who won silver at Tokyo.

About 50 people were at the Aramoho-Whanganui Rowing Club to watch the race on Thursday night.

“This year it was a relatively new crew, I think they were about fifth at the World Cup in Lucerne [Switzerland] a couple of months ago,” Baker-Hogan said.

“The whole New Zealand team has just lifted so well.

“You can’t buy experience and that’s what they’ve got.”

Whanganui female rowers had made the podium at every Olympics since 2012, she said.

Rebecca Scown won a women’s pair bronze at London 2012 with Juliette Haigh, and a silver at Rio 2016 with Genevieve Behrent.

“The city needs to do something about recognising these medals and the work that has gone in.

“I reckon the Gowler Rowing Course has a pretty good sound to it.”

Howells said the sisters began their rowing journey at Nga Tawa School and showed talent right from the word go.

“They have maintained their club affiliation since they started,” he said.

“When they are rowing at the national championships they still wear the Aramoho-Whanganui colours.

“It’s wonderful that they’ve kept that loyalty going when they could have easily transferred to somewhere else.”

Baker-Hogan said it was moments like Thursday night that lifted people.

“There have been some tough times with Covid and everything else, but these women have just been doing the mahi and pushing through.

“We’ve got some really great young rowers coming through, like the two boys [Jake Newton and William Herd] heading to Genoa [World Coastal Beach Championships].

“Who knows, it might be the turn of the boys over the next decade.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.