Mana canoeists star at nationals
Paddlers from the Mana Kayak Racing Club started with a hiss and a roar at the canoe racing national championships at Lake Karapiro last week, coming away with several titles.
Titahi Bay’s Marty McDowell, 28, made a big statement on the opening day, romping to a commanding win in the K1 1000 metres. He saw off the challenges of two Olympians, including Athens’ silver medallist Ben Fouhy.
Kurtis Imrie, 19, from Newlands, the junior sportsperson of the year at the recent New Zealand kayak awards, won the under-23 K1 1000, ahead of fellow New Zealand squad members Aiden Nossiter and Max Brown.
McDowell, also the national surf ski champion, won his first K1 1000m national title last year. This year he triumphed by nearly five seconds, winning in 3min 45.78sec. ‘‘The plan was to go out hard and try to get in front, then just hold on, though I was a bit worried about Ben at the end. He has always had a good finish,’’ McDowell said.
‘‘I’d done enough training to be confident, though – it has been a big year and it’s good to come to nationals and have it pay off.’’
Choppy conditions on Lake Karapiro made racing tricky, with many competitors relying on surf lifesaving skills to cope with the brisk easterly breeze.
Fouhy was impressed with McDowell. ‘‘ Marty’s going exceptionally well. That was a really impressive race from him and I don’t think I’ve seen someone paddle that well at nationals for a while,’’ he said.
Imrie and McDowell paired up in the K2 1000m, clocking 3min 20.65sec to edge out Poverty Bay brothers Darryl and Jarrod Fitzgerald. They then showed their versatility by grabbing silver in the K2 500m event.
Imrie was also a member of Mana’s third-placed K4 1000 and K4 200 open crews.
Mana club president Greg Adlam was pleased with the club’s medal haul, particularly with younger paddlers Neve Sissons and Tess Allen, who picked up top three placings.
Tawa’s Daniele Watson picked up two titles, in the under-16 K1 1000, and with Farren McGregorSmyth in the K2 500.
‘‘It has been a good year for her. Winning the under-16 K1 title is great,’’ Adlam said.
Glen Muirhead of Mana earned three masters titles, including the K2 1000 with Joern Scherzer.