Rowing NZ gets high marks after medal haul at world champs
OPINION: Seven world championship medals meant Rowing New Zealand get a nine out of 10 for the year.
After an underwhelming Olympic campaign last year, there were questions how this country’s rowers would fare in 2017.
Eric Murray hung up his oars, Hamish Bond leapt onto a bike, Mahe Drysdale took a year off and a number of other world champs followed suit.
But the depth built up over recent years by Rowing New Zealand shone through as New Zealand garnered three gold medals, two silver and two bronze over the past week in Florida, United States.
Two new double sculls combinations provided the cream on Monday morning (NZ time), as Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue captured the women’s title and Chris Harris and John Storey claimed the men’s crown.
The women’s eight produced a determined effort to gain bronze in the regatta’s final event to go with medals won the previous two days in the lightweight men’s sculls (silver), women’s pair (gold), lightweight women’s double sculls (silver) and men’s pair (bronze).
A fifth place in the men’s single sculls was the only downside for the Kiwis - and while Robbie Manson was reluctant to seek excuses after becoming the world’s fastest single sculler in Europe earlier this year, his world champs build-up was notably hampered by injury.
Post-olympic year in rowing is always full of movement and intrigue. Other country’s team’s experience similar changes to New Zealand due to retirements, new challenges, and the desire for something different.
That partly produced an unfamiliar medal table in Florida Italy topped it with nine, the Kiwis were next and an ever-improving Australian programme now influenced by the coaching of New Zealander Ian White were in third spot with six. Traditional powerhouses Great Britain tallied seven medals but just one gold, while Germany could only score one victory among their five medals.
The most pleasing aspect for Rowing NZ would have been the success of new boat combinations.
Harris and Storey have been in the elite squad for some time Harris was in the double with Manson at Rio and Storey in the quad. But with Manson going solo, they teamed up in an event now missing Rio gold medallists Martin and Valent Sinkovic from Croatia to steal the limelight.
Loe has been in the background the previous two seasons but found a perfect combination with the younger Donoghue and they made a clean sweep of their World Cup and world champs campaigns and have immediately heaped the pressure on 2015 world champs Zoe Stevenson and Eve Macfarlane, should they return after taking 2017 off.
The same can be said of the young lightweight women’s double sculls crew of Jackie Kiddle and Zoe Mcbride, who won silver. That was one spot behind what Julia Edward and Sophie Mackenzie managed in 2014 and 2015, but that duo couldn’t replicate that form in Rio and also took time away from the sport this year while pondering their futures.
Following in the wake of Bond and Murray would have been a thankless task, but Jamie Hunter making the switch from the lightweight four - and Tom Murray showed their men’s pair potential with bronze in Florida, while the women’s pair of Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast again showed their class with a powerful goldwinning row.
The women’s eight were again up among the best as the US lost their dominance in the event while a newly-arranged men’s eight showed plenty of spirit in taking the fight early to Germany in their final and remain a boat with world-class potential.
Lightweight sculler Matt Dunham - who made his mark initially last year as a reserve took silver and will now seek a companion over summer to shift out of the non-olympic class and into the lightweight double with Tokyo in mind.
The most anticipated battle of the domestic summer looms too Drysdale intends to kick-start a campaign for a third Olympic gold, but Manson won’t want to be budged.