Small team: big medal haul

They may have been small in number, but the Wairau Rowing Club contingent at last week’s national championships on Lake Karapiro punched well above their weight.

The six-strong team in the green and white row suits came away with five medals - three gold, a silver and a bronze – underlining their fitness and resilience during a demanding programme over the four-day event.

Leading the way was Aidan Bennett, an integral part of all three gold medal-winning crews.

On Friday he picked up gold in the men’s club single sculls. The Marlborough Boys’ College student won his heat earlier in the regatta but finished fourth in his semifinal, scraping into the decider with the top four going through.

However, in the final he showed he had plenty up his sleeve, stretching away to win by nearly four seconds from the second-placed Otago oarsman.

Earlier on day three, the men’s club coxless four comprising Aidan, Zac Jenkins, Logan Flight and Hunter Marfell claimed a bronze medal in their A final, finishing less than five seconds down on the winning Avon crew.

On Saturday, the four young rowers put aside fatigue and upped the ante, Aidan joining forces with Hunter Marfell, Logan Flight and Zac Jenkins to take out the club quad, then Aidan and Zac combining superbly to claim a third gold in the club pair.

Wairau coach Mark James said, “The four boys were a joy to work with and coach … they were well trained by their school coach team led by Clayton Lindstrom.

“Throughout the regatta the boys raced a number of times and I was concerned we may have asked too much of them, however as a team they supported each other magnificently and were sensible and well prepared with nutrition, rest and race warmup routines.

The senior pair [Aidan and Zac] raced well but had a difficult task to finish in the medals and settled fifth in the nine-boat final.

Following this the four race was a “sprint” from the start and the crew were a little shaky through the first half but consolidated well to finish with a bronze medal.

The next three races, the single, quad and club pair provided gold medals that were the results of the development and belief within the team.

“The boys are undoubtedly maturing in their approach, and they delivered on their race plans on all three occasions.”

The fifth Wairau rower to medal was Fred Vavasour who combined with Harry Fitzpatrick from the West End club for a silver medal in the premier pair, only beaten by the Kiwi pair of Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch who are current world champions.

The sixth member of the Wairau contingent was Mila van Rensburg who competed in the senior single, senior pair and double, plus draft premier eight. where she finished fourth.

Also in action was former Blenheim rower Karl Manson who picked up a red coat as part of the Waikato premier quad, 11 years since he was last in the winning premier quad, then with the Central RPC.    

Further honours were forthcoming, with Zac named as a NZ under-23 trialist, while Fred and Karl are NZ elite trialists this year.

Fred receiving the inaugural under-23 Male Athlete Trophy (provided by Mark Stallard) and Meg Flanagan (currently in USA) was awarded the inaugural U23 Female Athlete Trophy.

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