Garth Scown has returned to Wanganui from the London Olympics a contented and happy man after witnessing his daughter Rebecca win bronze with Juliette Haigh in the women's rowing pairs.
In 2010 he was on the banks of Lake Karapiro in Waikato when the same pair won the first of two world titles, but the Olympics was a far more special occasion.
"When Rebecca and Juliette won their first world title at Lake Karapiro you could hear the crowd roaring as they rowed down the course and as they got nearer to us it got louder and louder, almost like a freight train," he said. "But at Eton Dorney Lake it wasn't quite the same because the British pair were rowing for gold and the Poms got right behind them, but there was a group of us Kiwis that were making as much noise as we could as Rebecca and Juliette hung on for third. From where I was standing I actually thought they had finished fourth and I think they did too, but there was relief when they went into the frame in third."
Scown said his daughter was very happy to be on the podium.
"They knew it was a fast-closing gap of just .02 seconds that saved them from the death seat of fourth, so a lot of pleasure and relief was felt."
Scown said Rebecca and Juliette's build-up for the games was not without incident, causing them some worries and affected the fitness levels needed to win.
"They locked up in the last few strokes and one more good one they could have possibly claimed second. They had the speed but not the stamina," Scown said.
The Scowns were a farming family and Rebecca, sister Hannah and brother Sam grew up on the farm at Manutahi between Patea and Hawera.
"Rebecca and her siblings' roots are Wanganui though. Their great, great grandparents on the Scown side were married in Wanganui in 1867 and her great grandfather Robert was born here in 1870. Their mother's side, the Reids, were also very early Wanganui settlers, so I guess they can all claim to be Wanganui through and through," Scown said.
Hannah Scown rowed while at Wanganui Collegiate School but gave the sport away, while Sam Scown is a star winger for the Wanganui Heartland rugby squad. In a light-hearted moment Garth Scown said he was at loss to explain where the sporting genes came from.
"I played a bit of rugby, but not very successfully, although my brother Alistair was an All Black and my other brothers Harvey and Russell both represented Taranaki. What makes me proud though, is that the kids are very close and support each other in all their endeavours."