Emma Twigg and 'Hawke's Bay' teammates second at coastal rowing event in Wales

Hawkes Bay Today

13 Oct, 2022 08:00 PM2 mins to read

Jackie Kiddle (left) Emma Twigg, Bibi Colgan and Emma Dyke were second in a race at the World Rowing Coastal Championships in Wales. Photo / World Rowing

Hawke's Bay rower and Olympic champion Emma Twigg has finished second in the 3km ocean rowing race at the World Rowing Coastal Championships in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Twigg was joined in the four-person crew by Hawke's Bay's Bibi Colgan, Olympic silver medallist Emma Dyke and New Zealand lightweight sculler Jackie Kiddle.

The crew of NZL 01 competed as Hawke's Bay, with the region contributing half the crew members.

Because other countries had entered numerous entries in each event, each boat was also designated by a club name.

"It was a blast," said Twigg. "Coastal rowing is a lot of fun. In fact, a bit too much fun in the final, which was competed over a short course of 3km instead of the standard 6km. The sea conditions were very dangerous with the high wind pushing against the incoming tide to build massive waves."

A successful day for "team Hawke's Bay". Photo / World Rowing

Colgan, the other Hawke's Bay member of the crew, was buzzing with the experience.

"I'm reasonably new to this sport and I had some amazing teammates around me. All our competitors are experienced ocean rowers whereas this was New Zealand's first attempt in this new sport. To finish on the podium on our first attempt just shows what Kiwis can do in challenging circumstances."

Coastal rowing is an emerging sport that will be on the programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia.

More than 30 nations competed at the world championships, which took place on October 7-9. New Zealand also won two bronze medals in the men's double and men's single.

This was the best result of all the countries considering New Zealand had the smallest squad.