Rowing: Golden pair shine in final sprint

Nathan Cohen (left), with Joseph Sullivan, says he knew they were untouchable heading into the last 250 metres. Photo / Christine Cornege

From problem boat to perfection, Nathan Cohen's and Joseph Sullivan's gold in the double sculls of the final day of the world championships provided the highlight of New Zealand's most successful regatta.

After trialling three different combinations over the past three years, the Kiwis have finally found success in the men's double, with Cohen and Sullivan the first New Zealand crew to win a world championship in the event.

The New Zealanders produced a perfectly timed charge to fly past the British combination of Marcus Bateman and Matthew Wells within the final 500 metres to claim gold.

"Coming into that last 250 I knew nothing was going to stop us, it was just a matter of full blinkers and charge for that line," said Cohen.

After 2000m of working in synchronised splendour, the duo dropped their oars and raised their arms in unison as soon as they had crossed the line.

The emotion of the occasion was not lost on the 12,000-strong crowd on the embankment at Lake Karapiro, who were delighted to see New Zealand cap the final day with a gold medal.

But perhaps the wildest celebrations came from the pair's usually reserved coach, Calvin Ferguson.

"I just went crazy when the guys were coming over the line. What a finish," an elated Ferguson said.

It was an especially satisfying moment for Ferguson, given the uncertainty Cohen has faced over the past three years, having teamed up with three different partners over that time - each with limited success until now.

Cohen was joined by Matthew Trott in 2007 before the partnership was broken up with the return of Rob Waddell for the Beijing Olympics.

Ferguson believes that in Cohen and Sullivan, a three-time world champion at under-23 level, they have found the perfect partnership.

"Nathan has been fourth a couple of times before but he's so determined and I think we've found the right partner for him. "They're really compatible and they have never really had an off day in the build-up since getting back from overseas."

After a mixed campaign over the World Cup series, expectations on the new pairing were fairly modest coming into the championships.

They had placed third in Lucerne and missed out on making the final altogether in Munich.

Cohen said the pair knew they hadn't given their best.

"We just came back and rowed our own boat. We threw away all the data and numbers and just started focusing on what we had to do about getting our boat going, and as soon as we started doing that things started clicking," he said.

The gold in the double sculls was the second surprise result of the day for the Kiwi team after Invercargill's Louise Ayling picked up silver in a tense battle for second and third place in the women's lightweight single.

German entrant Marie-Louise Draeger won the final convincingly, with Italy's Laura Milani third, just half a second behind Ayling.

"I crossed the line and I just had no idea where I was, it was probably a minute or so before I realised that the German was first and then second was New Zealand, and that feeling was absolutely fantastic," said Ayling.

Their efforts brought New Zealand's medal haul to three gold, three silver and four bronze.

The fact that seven of those crews made the podium for the first time at a world championship is pleasing for Rowing New Zealand high performance manager Alan Cotter.

"I'm really happy with the development of our programmes; it shows we can get it right with athletes working their way through the system over a numbers of years," he said. "These athletes know that and they're dedicated."

The Kiwi men's eight were fifth in the final, better than many dared hope before the championships began.