Hot on the heels of the most successful Olympics ever for New Zealand, with 20 medals, 10 of those gold and half won on the water in Paris 2024, race 4 of the Whanganui Rowing Association’s Blinkhorne & Carroll 6km Winter Series race for rowers, kayakers and waka ama got away in perfect conditions on the awa on Sunday, August 11.
Thirty-seven crews raced the event, which started adjacent to the Treadwell Gordon Building in Taupo Quay, racing upriver through two bridges and turning 1500m up the rowing course, adjacent to Caffray Ave and finishing at our newly refurbished finish tower, just before the Aramoho railway bridge.
It was pleasing to see, but unsurprising that Aramoho-Whanganui Rowing Club’s (AWRC) William Herd, who with Jake Newton, is in full training for the World Coastal Beach Sprint Champs in Genoa, Italy as a member of the NZ Junior Team, took out the win in his men’s club single category, winning in 25m, 33.27s and an 85.70% prognostic time (comparative time against all boats and how the results are calculated).
Second place again went to Wellington Rowing Club’s Jason Theobald also in men’s club single, 25.58.47 and 84.31%, with third place to AWRC Bryn Morgan and Achilles Paikea, men Intermediate double scull, 24.11.87 and 83.99%.
We took the time at our prizegiving to celebrate the kayaking and rowing results in particular of our Paris Olympians, with special mention of the incredible Dame Lisa Carrington (now eight-time Olympic gold medallist) and our own Kerri Williams and her sister, Jackie Gowler, AWRC, who won bronze in the women’s coxless four. Kerri now has a rare full set of Olympic medals and is Whanganui’s first and only female Olympic champion in any sport.
