Rowing: Tonks a finalist for rowing's world coach of the year

New Zealand is in line to collect four gongs at the world rowing awards in January.

Head coach Dick Tonks is among the three finalists for Fisa's coach of the year. Tonks, who has been in the role since 2001, has steered New Zealand rowers and scullers to a host of world championship titles, and is most renowned for his work with double Olympic champions Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell.

The other nominees are longtime United States women's coach Tom Terhaar and Polish coach Aleksander Wojciechowski, coach of the current Olympic champion quad and winners of the last four world titles.

The Pole was named coach of the year last year.

Four-time world single scull champion Mahe Drysdale and current world coxless pair titleholders Eric Murray and Hamish Bond are in the final three for male crew of the year, with the Polish men's quad scull team who won the award in 2006.

Renowned administrator Don Rowlands, who oversaw New Zealand's first hosting of the world championships at Lake Karapiro in 1978, is one of three candidates for the Distinguished Service to International Rowing award. The former New Zealand rower received the Olympic Order medal in 1982 and is an honorary Fisa council member.

The other nominees are American Hart Perry and Magdalena Sarbochova of the Czech Republic, both with lengthy administrative careers in the sport.

The women's finalists are multi-medalled Belarussian Ekaterina Karsten, American current world champion pair Erin Cafaro and Susan Francia and the American women's eight who have been three-time world champions and Olympic gold medallists last year.