Pleasure after pain in knock from skip

GOLD Coast’s Australian captain Kate Czerny put her body and soul on the line when IRB racing made its international National Teams debut at the 2018 World Lifesaving Championships at Glenelg.

Czerny, one of the finest IRB drivers ever produced in Australia, overcame a painful back injury to lead the Aussies in her finest hour.

A member of the Surf Life Saving Hall of Fame after a stellar career with North Burleigh, Czerny produced a true captain’s knock when she drove her IRB teammates to two gold (Female IRB Mass Rescue and IRB Rescue Tube) and two silver medals (IRB Rescue and Mixed IRB Teams Rescue).

In the end it wasn’t enough to snatch the inaugural Harry Brown OAM Memorial Trophy from New Zealand who won four gold and three silvers to Australia’s three gold, two silvers and one bronze medal.

Australian head coach Scott Ivey hailed Czerny.

“She was far from 100 percent but she is an absolute stalwart; she is the pinnacle of this sport; there is no one else like her, male or female,” said Ivey.

“Kate just keeps going and going and going.

“She’s in her late 30s and she is racing girls in their late 20s who recover quicker.

“They are fit and they are fast and she knows that her back is not good; it goes out every now and then.

“She’s got to do work to push through (the pain).”