Double duty for women’s pair
Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler will take on a huge workload as they attempt to help qualify two New Zealand boats for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The women’s pair will also be part of the eight when the Kiwi team contests the world championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, starting on August 25.
The world championships double as the major Olympic qualifying event for Tokyo, with New Zealand entering boats in all 14 Olympic classes in Austria.
Prendergast and Gowler have been selected for double duty after performing the feat at the final World Cup regatta of the season in Rotterdam last month, where they won gold in the eight and silver in the pair.
It’s not a new challenge for the duo either, nor a new tactic for the New Zealand women’s team.
They rowed in both classes at the 2015 world championships, winning silver in both and qualifying the two boats for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
However, they missed out in selection for the pair for Rio to eventual silver medallists Rebecca Scown and Genevieve Behrent and were part of the eight that was fourth.
Prendergast and Gowler were world champions in the pair in 2017 and silver medallists last year.
The New Zealand team for the world championships features a new men’s four new combination and a new women’s quad boat.
Among those favoured to challenge for gold in Austria along with the women’s pair and eight will be women’s single sculler Emma Twigg, the lightweight women’s double sculls duo of Zoe McBride and Jackie Kiddle and the women’s double of Brooke Donoghue and Olivia Loe.
The men’s pair of Tom Murray and Michael Brake have been in strong form during their World Cup campaign while the men’s eight, featuring Hamish Bond and Mahe Drysdale, were third in the final World Cup regatta.
There are Olympic qualifying spots at a ‘last chance’ regatta in Lucerne next year but Rowing New Zealand chief executive Simon Peterson told Newsroom recently that it was highly unlikely the organisation would send any boats that miss out in Austria.
‘‘We’re not intending sending any crews to the last chance regatta unless there’s extenuating circumstances, such as a major illness in a crew or gear failure on the course – something we couldn’t have foreseen. The chances of qualifying from the last chance regatta are very small, and even if they do, they have to peak again within three months.’’