Waka ama athletes return to Rotorua with medal haul

A group of Rotorua athletes have let their paddles do the talking at the inaugural IVF World Distance Championships in Tahiti.

There were 33 countries represented at the event and the Kiwis held their own as they returned with an impressive medal haul.

Tui McCaull and Lynora Hati were members of the New Zealand team which won gold in the 27km masters women's race.

George Thomas won silver with the New Zealand para team (18km) as well as silver in the individual para race (18km).

Fifteen-year-old Kyra Mita stunned locals as she raced her way to victory in the 6km J16 Te Aito singles race as well as winning gold with the New Zealand J19 team (27km).

Her individual win resulted in her picking up Tahitian paddling brand Marere as a sponsor for future events.

Tipene James and Manaaki Te Kowhai were members of the New Zealand J19 men's team which finished sixth (27km).

McCaull said competing at the world champs was an "awesome" experience.

"Tahiti are the top - paddling to them is like rugby and netball are to us, so we were taking them on at their own game in their backyard.

"It was a pretty hard race, 27km in hot, hot weather, that was one of the biggest things for us, getting used to the heat over there," McCaull said.

She said the team had to gel quickly when they got to Tahiti as the majority of their training had been completed individually.

Tui McCaull (left), Kyra Mita, Tipene James and Lynora Hati represented New Zealand at the IVF World Distance Waka Ama Championships in Tahiti. Photo / Ben Fraser

"Our coach made us a programme we started in February - we had about six days a week on the water and in the weekend it would be a longer paddle.

"At most we were doing about 30km in a single, which is a good three hours of paddling."

Hati said she had never travelled to Tahiti before and what stood out to her was how popular the sport was there.

"You hear about it but it's not until you're there that you see it's the cafe owners, the taxi drivers, people on the bus, they all have a comment about paddling.

"The cool thing is if you've done well over there, it's quite a surreal feeling because everyone knows.

"It was different and new and I enjoyed it," Hati said.

She said the women's masters team came together well.

"It was a trust thing, that showed, really, in our performance."

Mita, who has only been participating in the sport for two years, said the world champs were a good experience and she was excited to have a sponsor.

"It was pretty hard.

"Getting the first sponsor was awesome, I wasn't expecting that.

"I train just about every day, I enjoyed the experience and meeting new people.

"I like to win and have fun at the same time," Mita said.

She said she was extremely grateful for Nigel Baker getting her into the sport, adding she and the other athletes were well supported by their respective clubs.

McCaull said Mita was "absolutely amazing".

"Watching her, she looked really relaxed - it was pretty rough conditions but she looked so calm and composed.

"There were boys in her race so there was a bit of jostling but she just settled, she made it look so easy."

James said the championships were a good learning experience.

"We struggled in the first two legs, then finally found our rhythm in the last leg.

"We were about 300m behind Australia and ended up about 600m ahead of them in the end," James said.

Sitting at the rear of the waka James was responsible for steering, a job made all the more difficult by Tahiti's currents and coral reefs.

"I was trying to keep control of the boat, I have to make sure we're on a good line and make sure I see the reefs before we hit them.

"I would have to rate it as my number one experience, it's always good to paddle in the Tahitian waters, it was a really good experience.

"Tahiti were out of our league, they are really professional so being able to listen and see what they were doing was good."