Rowing: Medal haul for NZ at Lucerne

New Zealand have come away with a rich haul of six medals, including three golds, at the rowing World Cup event in Switzerland this morning (NZ time).

New Zealand had nine crews in the finals at Lucerne.

World champion Mahe Drysdale capped a great return after a four-month break with a back injury by taking a bronze medal in the men's single sculls and not far off the pace set by Ondrej Synek and Alan Campbell.

An underdone Drysdale showed he was back on track in preparations for the world championships at Lake Karapiro beginning in October.

Drysdale, who beat Olympic champion Olaf Tufte, was never out of the race, and looked strong in the dash for the line.

The women's pair of Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh, the men's pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray and the lightweight double scull of Peter Taylor and Storm Uru all struck gold.

The two pairs and the light double were also crowned World Cup winners after great seasons, with the two pairs unbeaten in all international racing.

The men's `A' four took a stunning silver and the heavyweight men's double scull of Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan turning in a superb row to take bronze, just a whisker away from second.

Scown and Haigh delivered another dominant win in the women's pair, vanquishing round one winners Canada with a superb display of technical, smooth rowing.

Murray and Bond were away from the start, and immediately in a fight with the fast starting Greeks and, for a 10th time, their British arch-rivals Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed.

They rowed the best race of their season to take a commanding lead in the second 500 metres leaving their opposition in their wake.

Lightweights Peter Taylor and Storm Uru, second in Munich, always looked more efficient and more controlled and through the middle of the race as the British challenge failed to materialise.

Canada were their main challengers but the New Zealand pair took a clear water lead in the final 500m which they held to the finish.

"This was a great way to set ourselves up for Karapiro and we still feel there are lots of areas we can improve," said Taylor.

New Zealand had two crews in the final of the men's coxless fours.

The `B' boat of Ben Hammond, Ian Seymour, Chris Harris and Tyson Williams had a conservative start and could not make up the lost ground at the finish leaving the `A' crew of David Eade, Hamish Burson, Jade Uru and Sean O'Neill to take the fight to the British Olympic champions and a French crew.

As the crews all surged across the line just a few seconds apart, Britain took the gold, with the New Zealand `A' crew second, the French third and the `B' crew fourth.

The men's heavyweight double scull of Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen put a disappointing regatta in Munich behind them and were right at the sharp end of the field throughout the final in Lucerne to secure a solid third place.

The women's quad completed a solid weekend with a sixth place finish in the main final.

- NZPA