Newton was proud of his efforts at a young age in a sport he was still fairly new to.
“I blew my expectations away with how I performed,” he said.
“I had been doing some hard trainings going into it, but not that many of them. To come away with three golds was more than I had anticipated. I was really just doing it for the experience of meeting some new people and getting some time away and some sunshine.”
The Whanganui High School head boy said he enjoyed the chance to rub shoulders with other great athletes.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to meet a broader range of young athletes who are in a similar position to me, wanting to get into a bit of coastal [rowing] on top of flat-water rowing,” Newton said.
“I also thought it was a really great experience for meeting people such as Joe Sullivan and Mike Brake, who are both Olympic champions, building up the number of people and expertise that I can now tap into for advice on top of the incredible support I have here in Whanganui.”
Unlike his experience in Italy last year, the conditions were ideal for racing.
“The sandy beach and calm surf made a huge difference. With a bit more experience under my belt, I was able to focus and really perform,” Newton said.
Newton was recently awarded Single Sculler of the Year at the Whanganui Rowing Association prizegiving.
He put his success down to the support of his family, teachers and coaches, particularly AWRC head coach Axel Dickinson.
Dickinson said it had been fulfilling to be part of Newton’s journey and he was excited to see where the teenager went.
“Jake is ambitious, hardworking and those cumulative years of hard graft are coming to fruition with some incredible opportunities both athletically and academically,” Dickinson said.
“Rowing is a punishing sport at times but it develops some incredibly resilient and ambitious people. As a club, we’re most proud of our athletes and Jake is a great example.”
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.