Midway, Waikanae win gold

GOLD MEDALLIST: Midway's Jack Lepper (pictured) teamed up with clubmate Tyron Evans yesterday to win the New Zealand junior under-14 board rescue title at Oceans 20 in testing surf conditions at Mount Maunganui. He was pictured during a special training day at Midway this summer. Picture by Paul Rickard

SURF LIFESAVING

GOLD medals to Waikanae beach sprinter Chloe Kapene and Midway board rescuers Jack Lepper and Tyron Evans were Gisborne highlights from Day 1 of the Ocean Athletes New Zealand junior surf lifesaving championships at Mount Maunganui yesterday.

Lepper and Evans won their gold in the under-14 boys' board rescue, and their clubmates Kyle Seabrook and William Matthews took the silver medal.

Kaiaponi Farm Waikanae's Kapene was too strong for the rest of the field in the u13 girls' beach sprint final, and her clubmate Rubi Hart was fourth.

Charlie Keepa from Riversun Wainui took the bronze medal in the u13 girls' surf race final, just nudging out Ella Sutton from Dawson Building Midway in the run up the beach.

Sutton finished fourth.

“It was a good day for our u14 boys yesterday, and they produced some good results,” Midway sport co-ordinator Jared Phelps said.

There was a solid metre of fairly clean surf running all day and it tested out the competitors from all 46 competing clubs.

“Our young ones produced some gutsy performances that they can be proud of,” Phelps said.

“A lot of them made it through to the next round from their heats.”

Midway's Gabrielle Searle finished fourth in the u11 surf race, and the club's u11s were fifth in the mixed beach relay.

The programme today includes run-swim-run events, the board heats and beach flags.

There is again a testing metre-sized wave.