Local rowers medal on world stage

Rowers with Marlborough connections claimed medals at the Under-23 World Championships in Poznan, Poland over the weekend.

Wairau oarsman Fred Vavasour was part of the Kiwi men’s eight which bagged silver with a superbly-paced effort, while former MGC and Wairau rower Meg Flanagan won a bronze medal in the NZ women’s four the previous day.

Henry Kirk and Ed Lopas, from the eight, also have Marlborough connections, Henry still affiliated to the Wairau club while Ed was previously part of the Wairau programme.

In 2021 Fred was part of the NZ under-19 men’s eight, which due to COVID   never had the chance to test themselves against the world’s best, this time he and crewmates Harry Fitzpatrick, Ben Shortt, Henry, Nic Bryan, Matt Waddell, Cody Johnson, Ed and Oliver Duncan were not to be denied, pulling off a brilliant race to take silver behind the highly-favoured Great Britain.

“It's a bit of a full circle moment really,” said Fred after the podium celebrations at the Lake Malta course.

“The stroke side’s the same as our 19 eight that didn't get to go.  There were five of us in the eight, and then Harry and Ed were in the team, but they were sculling.

“It's pretty cool to four years later get something across the line, eh!

“In passing, we've always sort of said, ‘Oh yeah, you know, the Under 19 eight, what could have been?” said Fred.

Now they know.

In five short weeks together, they’ve got up for a silver medal and seriously challenged a Great Britain boat that’s won the U23 title for the past six years, guided by a man who’s built his career around sculling.

“It's the first time I’ve coached an eight and I’ve absolutely loved the experience,” says coach Calvin Ferguson. “I'm just stoked. Absolutely elated.”

Also elated was Meg and the Kiwi women’s four, which included Madeleine Parker, Zola Kemp and Nicole Campbell, who put themselves in podium position with an aggressive start then an even gutsier second 500m to eventually finish third behind Great Britain and Romania on the penultimate day of racing.

The crew are all US-based college athletes, Meg and Nicole are part of the University of Tennessee programme while Madeleine and Zola row out of the University of Washington. They are coached at international level by Marlborough’s Mark Stallard.

Three of this year’s crew had never raced at this level before, with Madeleine being part of the Kiwi four that won silver in Canada last year.

This year’s crew battled illness to find a spot on the podium, with Meg, Madeleine and Nicole struggling to be fit for the final.

Madeleine had high praise for Meg’s efforts. “She did a really good job,” she said.

“I think she's really proud of herself because she got thrown in to stroke seat and I don't think she's stroked since her first year in America [in 2022] ... and that was an eight.”