By JULIE ASH
New Zealand rowing's Olympic hopefuls were given the chance to tune up at the North Island Championships at Lake Karapiro over the weekend.
New Zealand have qualified in four Olympic classes - the women's single scull and double scull and men's coxless pair and coxless four.
Trials will be
held next month to determine who will represent New Zealand in those boats in Athens.
While Sonia Waddell is the frontrunner for the single scull berth and Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell are certainties for the double scull spot, places in the men's boats (the men's coxless pair and men's coxless four) are still open.
Don Leach and George Bridgewater did their chances no harm when they took out the men's North Island coxless pairs title.
Leach and Bridgewater edged out Eric Murray and Carl Meyer by less than a second. Ian Smallman and Mahe Drysdale were third.
Nathan Twaddle and Rob Hellstrom secured New Zealand's Olympic spot in the coxless pairs at last year's world championships, but the pair were unable to compete in the championships because Hellstrom was training in Blenheim.
Hamish Allison, Peter Mitchell, Ian Smallman and Mahe Drysdale won the men's coxless four ahead of Gary Roberts, Twaddle, David Schumacher and Rodney Stevens.
Selwyn Cleland, Bryce Mael, Jonathan McElwee and Glen Twining were third.
Caroline Evers-Swindell won the women's single scull title over her twin sister Georgina. Sonia Waddell did not race.
The Evers-Swindells won the double scull title, finishing almost 20s ahead of their nearest rivals Carolyn Steele and Rachel Starr.
The Ever-Swindells also teamed up with Kimberly Forlong and Leisha Williams to win the quadruple scull.
