Whanganui dragonboater Anne Kauika won two gold medals and three silvers at the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany, July 14-20.
Whanganui dragonboater Anne Kauika won two gold medals and three silvers at the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany, July 14-20.
Whanganui’s New Zealand representative Anne Kauika has won five medals at the 17th International Dragon Boat Federation world championships in Germany.
Kauika returned home this week with two gold medals and three silvers in what was the New Zealand Black Dragons’ highest medal count at the IDBF World DragonBoat Racing Championships.
New Zealand placed eighth out of 36 countries after claiming 12 medals.
She won gold in the 2km senior B (50-plus age group) mixed small boat and in the women’s small boat 500m race.
Her silvers came in the 200m mixed small boat and in the women’s senior B small boat for 2km and 200m.
Kauika said the gold in the 500m women’s small boat was the most satisfying race after winning by 0.2 seconds over Canada and nearly 0.5 seconds over the United States.
“That was the best race ever over 500m, there was less than a second across the first three crews, none of us knew who’d won, we had to wait until someone called from the bank,” Kauika said.
“Our team on the bank just went nuts, and it was like, ‘yes’, because they’d beaten us in the other races. So to win that on the last day was very cool.”
Whanganui dragonboater Anne Kauika was a part of the New Zealand women's small boat crew which won gold in 500m race at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany last month.
They went into the grand final as the fifth fastest qualifier from their heat and shaved off 2.5 seconds for their final time.
“It was just one of those sweet rides where you get to the end and you’re all knackered but it felt easy, in a way, because everything came together,” Kauika said.
The first-place 2km senior B (50-plus age group) mixed small boat won the grand final by 11 seconds over Canada.
Kauika said the event was a great experience and the squad came together well, thanks to the help of the management team.
“As a squad, we were awesome. All New Zealand teams made finals in everything, and it’s the best campaign medal count New Zealand has ever had – it was great, connected group of people and team atmosphere.”
The dragon boat season is now over, but Kauika will switch her focus to her waka ama training for the upcoming season.
She will head to Hamilton for a training camp on August 9 in preparation for nationals in January 2026.
