Promising signs on the water for NZ crews

A new-look women’s double sculls crew led the way on a promising starting day for the New Zealand rowing team at the Tokyo Olympics.

Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne produced a powerful display against quality opposition yesterday to win their heat and advance to the semifinals.

Four of the five New Zealand boats in action on the official opening day of the Games made it safely through to the next stages, including veteran women’s single sculler Emma Twigg.

Donoghue and Osborne were named recently as the new crew for the double sculls, after Donoghue and Olivia Loe won world championship gold in 2017 and 2019 and were silver medallists in 2018.

The new combination showed why the selectors opted to team them up as they triumphed in their heat in a time of 6min 53.62sec, heading off the United States by 2.03sec, with the top three finishers in each of the three heats advancing directly to the semis to be raced on Monday.

Their time was usurped in the next heat by a highly impressive Romanian combination in 6:49.79, while the Netherlands won the third heat in 6:49.90.

‘‘It just felt like we were racing at home. It was nothing too crazy,’’ Osborne said soon after their race.

‘‘Good race, good hit out,’’ Donoghue added.

‘‘We just stuck to the process and it’s nice to come out on top after having no racing over the last couple of years. I’m really confident in what Hannah and I can do.’’

Twigg, competing at her fourth Olympic Games, led from the start of her women’s single scull heat to win in a time of 7min 35.22sec – the fastest time recorded in the six heats yesterday.

The 34-year-old, who was fourth in London 2012 and Rio 2016, advanced comfortably to the quarterfinals to be raced on Monday at the Sea Forest Waterway course.

Twigg left the sport after her disappointing finish in Rio but returned two years later and was second at the 2019 world championships, to again establish her as an Olympic medal contender and a chance to finally grab a place on the podium.

Other heat winners included 2018 and 2019 world champion Sanita Puspure, of Ireland, in 7:46.08 and Hanna Prakatsen, of the Russia Olympic Committee, the current European champion and surprise package at this year’s World Cup, in 7:48.74.

Jordan Parry was second in his heat of the men’s single scull on his Olympics debut.

The 25-year-old, competing in the boat Mahe Drysdale had occupied for the past three Games and won two gold and a bronze in, recorded a time of 7:04.45, almost 5sec behind heat winner Stefanos Ntouskos, of Greece. That also saw him through to the quarterfinals on Monday.

‘‘I think we were ready for something quite rusty to start with being our first international racing,’’ Parry said later.

‘‘But I was happy with just getting this one under the belt.

‘‘It’s a bit of a relief.’’

In the men’s double sculls, another new Kiwi combination of Jack Lopas and Chris Harris made the semifinals by finishing third in the tightest heat of the day.

Their time of 6:12.05 left them just behind heat winners Poland (6:11.22) and secondplaced Switzerland (6:11.24).

‘‘That was a tough race – they’re all quality crews,’’ the experienced Harris said.

‘‘We had a really good rhythm and kept sprinting at the end.’’

The New Zealand women’s quad crew of Georgia Nugent-O’Leary, Ruby Tew, Eve Macfarlane and Olivia Loe were fourth in their heat, with just the top two finishers advancing directly to the A final, with the Kiwis now having to contest a repechage for the two remaining final spots.