New Zealand won its first medals from the under-23 rowing world championships overnight, (NZT) including a gold for the women's pair of Kayla Pratt and Kelsey Bevan at the regatta in Trakai, Lithuania.
After a tense start where they were second at 500 metres behind Great Britain, the girls then powered away to take a tiny lead at halfway and kept on going to move out to a clear lead at the 1500 metre marker before coming home some five seconds to the good for the win.
Britain took silver and Germany bronze.
There were also two bronze medals - for the men's coxed four of Michael Berry, Alex Kennedy, Axel Dickinson, Robert Kells and Caleb Shepherd and the women's quadruple scull of Olivia Loe, Genevieve Behrent, Lucy Spoors and Linda Matthews.
