Long-serving Ocean Beach Kiwi beach sprint coach Greg Larsen has seen some phenomenal feats from his athletes over the years but he reckons yesterday's will take some beating.
Four gold medals were won by his teenagers at the national surf life saving championships at Midway Beach in Gisborne and the highlight for Larsen was watching 18-year-old Ben Lewis capture a second consecutive under-19 boys title. Lewis tied for gold with Papamoa's New Zealand representative Aidan Smith.
"Considering Ben was out of action for a large chunk of last year with a broken collarbone he collected while playing for the Napier Boys' High School 1st XV rugby side it was a fantastic performance," Larsen said.
Lewis and Reece Akuhata won a second consecutive national under-19 relay title when they combined with Kyle Cornelissen and Grayson Hesketh to capture gold.
Hesketh was a late replacement for the team after Wesley Akeripa withdrew with a broken ankle he received when working on an apple orchard.