Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui athletes selected for Tokyo Olympics

Whanganui Chronicle
18 Jun, 2021 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Five athletes who started their careers on the Whanganui River are off to the Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Five athletes who started their careers on the Whanganui River are off to the Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Lewis Gardner

New Zealand's water sports teams at the Tokyo Olympics will include five athletes from Whanganui.

Read more (Premium): Tokyo Olympics: Five Whanganui athletes to represent New Zealand on water

MAX BROWN
EVENT: K2 1000

Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Tokyo 2020 will be Max's first Olympic Games.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hailing from Whanganui, he produced his most impressive international season to date, as Max alongside Kurtis Imrie finished eighth in the A Final of the K2 1000m at the World Cup in Poznan.

In 2020, Max and Kurtis qualified a K2 1000m boat for New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics via the Oceania Championships.

Max is currently studying a Masters of Business Management degree at Waikato University. He is an accomplished musician and between training sessions teaches music to school students in Cambridge.

KERRI GOWLER
EVENT: Women's Pair and Women's Eight

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Kerri was a part of the first-ever New Zealand women's eight to compete at an Olympic Games in Rio 2016. Tokyo will be her second Games, where she will compete in the women's pairs and will be going into the event as one to watch. Kerri has been a history-maker since 2014 when she broke both the under-23 pairs and the elite women's four records in the same season. Kerri and Grace Prendergast teamed up in the pair in 2019 and won gold. As if that weren't enough, the two women were also in the first New Zealand women's eight to win at the World Championships. Both crews are coached by Gary Hay. Kerri is the proud owner of a sausage dog called Cooper and is from Raetihi. She is currently working towards a Bachelor of Science, majoring in psychology.

JACKIE GOWLER
EVENT: Women's Eight

Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Jackie will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 in the women's sweep squad.

The younger sister of NZ rower Kerri, Jackie was in the stroke seat of the history-making New Zealand women's eight. A world champion title in her 3rd year as an elite is an impressive feat, showing there may be more to come for this talented young athlete. Jackie is originally from Raetihi and is being coached by Gary Hay. Beyond the sport, Jackie can be found out and about with her friends or back home on the farm. She is studying towards a bachelor's degree in health, sport and human performance at the University of Waikato.

Discover more

Schools flock to Pilot Academy open day

18 Jun 05:00 PM

CHRIS HARRIS
EVENT: Men's Double Sculls

Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Chris will be attending his third Olympic Games after competing at London 2012 in the men's four and Rio 2016 in the men's double sculls. Chris stayed in the double sculls after Rio, winning the World Championships title in 2017, and earned a bronze in 2018. In Tokyo, Chris will be partnered with Jack Lopas in the men's double who are coached by Calvin Fergusson. Originally from Whanganui, Chris relocated to Cambridge in 2010 when he made his elite debut. He is coached by Calvin Fergusson.

Chris is a qualified engineer, and he and his partner welcomed a baby boy to the world in early 2019.

GEORGIA NUGENT-O'LEARY
EVENT: Women's Quadruple Sculls

Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images

Tokyo 2020 will be Georgia's first Olympic campaign competing in the women's quad, coached by Mike Rodger. Included in the New Zealand summer squad for the 2016/17 domestic season, a bike crash caused Georgia to have a lengthy period on the bank, but she has returned in time for the Tokyo Games. Originally from Marton, Georgia moved to Cambridge in 2019 to pursue her rowing career. Georgia is studying towards a Bachelor of Science majoring in food science.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

Athletics: Rising stars shine at cross country champs

18 Jun 05:00 PM
Sponsored Stories

Club rugby: Kaierau dethroned as top team after Rātana victory

16 Jun 05:00 PM
Sponsored Stories

Club rugby: Border secure semifinal spot

16 Jun 05:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Athletics: Rising stars shine at cross country champs

Athletics: Rising stars shine at cross country champs

18 Jun 05:00 PM

The event in Whangārei featured 700 athletes from 132 schools.

Club rugby: Kaierau dethroned as top team after Rātana victory

Club rugby: Kaierau dethroned as top team after Rātana victory

16 Jun 05:00 PM
Club rugby: Border secure semifinal spot

Club rugby: Border secure semifinal spot

16 Jun 05:00 PM
Rugby: Marist aim to extend winning streak against Border

Rugby: Marist aim to extend winning streak against Border

12 Jun 05:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP