Rowing: Only one winner as teammates become rivals

Hamish Bond. Photo / Christine Cornege

Hamish Bond got one over his world champion pairs teammate Eric Murray on the first day of finals at the New Zealand rowing champs on Lake Ruataniwha.

Bond and partner Jade Uru, racing for Southern RPC, produced a furious final 500m push to beat Murray and his Waikato RPC partner David Eade in the pairs.

Eade and Uru were crewmates in the four that took bronze at the Karapiro world championships last year.

Adam Tripp, from the NZ men's eight, and Nick Pusinelli were third for Auckland.

It was closer still in the women's pairs race.

With Juliette Haigh out with a back injury, Rebecca Scown and Louise Trappitt battled with Auckland's Kelsey Bevan and Emma Feathery for top honours.

In the women's lightweight single scull Southern RPC's Lucy Strack dominated. Louise Ayling chased her hard, but had to settle for second.

In the men's event, Peter Taylor beat three-time world champion Duncan Grant by a boat-length.

Todd Petherick finished third ahead of former under-23 lightweight single sculls world champion Graham Oberlin-Brown.

World champion bronze medallist adaptive rower Danny McBride raced a double crew and while the double won, McBride kept them within range for most of the 1000m race.