Rotorua's Julia Edward and her lightweight double sculls partner Sophie MacKenzie have secured a remarkable gold at the World Rowing Champs on the Bosbaan in Amsterdam.
The women's pair of Rebecca Scown and Louise Trappitt earned bronze.
Edward and MacKenzie provided a surprise after finishing second in their semifinal toSouth Africa. They announced themselves on the international stage with a world best time of 6m 48.56s, eclipsing the time set by Edward and Louise Ayling in 2012.
They were down by 0.04s after 500m but steadily increased their lead in the second quarter to dominate.
MacKenzie was recruited from the lightweight combination with Zoe McBride which won the under-23 championship in Italy last month.
