Golden streak continues

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ARAMOHO Wanganui Rowing Club's hot streak continued on Lake Ruataniwha with three more gold medals and a bronze from the second day of A Finals at the Bankstream NZ Rowing Champs at Twizel yesterday.

After two golds and a bronze on the water during Thursday's finals, AWRC had the perfect start when Tony O'Keefe (stroke) and Ryan Joblin backed up from their men's novice coxed quad sculls victory to also claim the novice double sculls.

O'Keefe and Joblin completed the course in 7m 33.85s, just slightly slower than their time in the semifinals but still five seconds ahead of the Auckland RC and Hawke's Bay RC crews.

Having also won gold the day before in the women's coxed club eight, Kayla Spencer (stroke) and Jessica Brougham were joined by Jaime O'Keefe and Ella Toa to claim bronze in the club coxless quad sculls.

AWRC's time of 7m 23.46s was just over a second behind the Hamilton RC team, but five seconds back from the winning Auckland RC team.

Brougham and Jaime O'Keefe were straight back at it in the women's club double sculls, winning gold with a 7m 45.65s row in the final.

It was slower than their semifinal race, where they finished second to the Avon RC team, but made them comfortable three second winners of the A Final with the Otago University RC and Auckland RC teams chasing them home.

The day was then wrapped up by Luke Watts winning the men's senior single gold medal.

Watts was favoured after winning the North Island Club title a fortnight ago.

"He did it easily this time," said AWRC club captain Jim Sommerville.

"He was very nervous on the way out, had to leave something in the lake."

Watt's winning time of 7m 16.75s was an eight second winning margin " bigger than the North Islands " over the runner-up from the Waikato RC club, who in turn was well ahead of the Cure Boating Club rower in third.

Sommerville said the club has eight more A Finals to contest today.

He is delighted there has been a high conversion rate from the seven silver medals the club secured last year. "It's getting up there to being our most successful for a long time."