Rowing: First regatta and he's going for gold

The final will be Daniel McBride's only third race. Photo / Christine Cornege

When Danny McBride gets to the start line for his adaptive world rowing final today, it will be just his third race.

But the 41-year-old is a strong chance to bag New Zealand's first medal of the championships.

He won his heat, put up the second quickest time behind serial world record achiever Tom Aggar of Britain, and McBride, a paraplegic who races as an arms-and-shoulders single sculler, fancies his chances of getting on the podium.

"This is my first real regatta. This is why you do all the training, all the hard yards and it's definitely paid off," McBride said.

He first jumped in a boat in March last year, did a bit of rowing over the winter, gradually lifted his training to the point where "it's been pretty full on, six days a week" since getting a coach last February.

McBride, who represented New Zealand in basketball for several years until 2006, wanted to take his talents to the Paralympics. Basketball was unlikely to fulfil that ambition and he'd been keen to have a crack at rowing a few years ago.

"I still love basketball, it's my passion, but it wasn't going to get me to a world champs or Paralympics."

Sport Waikato stepped in to help McBride, world champs teammate Nathan Twaddle played a hand and once Robin Tinga, the previous national adaptive representative, indicated he might not be around for the London Games in 2012, McBride stepped in and, with assistance from his coaches, Dave Lazarus and Norm Charlton of the Cambridge club, hasn't looked back.

"Just being in a single person sport, it's all down to me and what I do," he said.

McBride still had to prove himself.

"I had to do a world-class time to get into the elite team," he said.

"Now I really feel my place is justified by winning that heat. It's a really good feeling."

And could be even better around 3:20 this afternoon.

McBride, who lives in nearby Tirau, is among 92 adaptive athletes at the world championships, representing 19 of the 49 countries competing.