Rising New Zealand sprinter Kodi Harman has capped a dream summer by winning the open men's beach sprint at the Australian surf lifesaving championships on the Gold Coast today.
Fresh from winning the national under-20 100-200m track double last weekend - the former in a quick time of 10.56 seconds - the Papamoa 17-year-old upstaged Australasia's fastest on the sand to cement a unique double, just two weeks after winning the New Zealand open title.
"I'm just over the moon, especially seeing as I came into this with a bit of a hamstring problem," Harman said. "But the hammy seemed to get better the more rounds I did and I tossed back a couple of concrete pills before the final and hardened up. It's been a big few weeks for me and this is the perfect way to end the season."
Harman eased home in today's final, although things were much tighter behind him, with North Cottesloe's Thomas Nolan and Kurrawa's Ben Mispelhorn finishing second-equal. Another New Zealander, Paul Cracroft-Wilson, was sixth.
Harman, who discovered last night he'd also been added to the New Zealand team for June's world junior athletics championships, wasn't content with one gold. He also helped the Papamoa under-19 beach relay team - also featuring Danny Kayes, Jordan Hills and Hamish Smith - to victory in their final. The same combination also won the New Zealand open and under-19 titles a fortnight ago in Gisborne.
