Olympic duo to chase double gold at Tokyo
Kiwi rowers Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast will get two shots at gold at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics after being named as the women’s pair and in the women’s eight squad.
The pair were named at Lake Karapiro yesterday, with 32 rowers making up the full team for Tokyo.
The women’s eight squad also includes Jackie Gowler, Beth Ross, Phoebe Spoors, Kirstyn Goodger, Kelsey Bevan, Lucy Spoors, Emma Dyke, Ella Greenslade and coxswain Caleb Shepherd. Ten athletes have been selected for the eight, with the final make-up of the boat to be named before competition.
Brooke Donoghue will compete with Hannah Osborne in the women’s double scull event. Olivia Loe, Eve Macfarlane, Ruby Tew and Georgia Nugent-O’Leary will make up New Zealand’s women’s quad.
Emma Twigg will contest the women’s single scull at her fourth Olympics, while Jordan Parry will make his Olympic debut in the men’s single scull. Chris Harris and Jack Lopas make up New Zealand’s double
scull crew. Harris represented New Zealand in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games in both the men’s four and men’s quad, while Lopas is making his debut at this level.
At 21, Dan Williamson is the team’s youngest member, joining Matt MacDonald, Tom Mackintosh, Philip Wilson, Shaun Kirkham, Hamish Bond, Michael Brake, Tom Murray and coxswain Sam Bosworth in the men’s eight crew. Stephen Jones and Brook Robertson make up the men’s coxless pair event.
The naming of the rowing squad takes the number of athletes selected for the New Zealand team to 117.