World Champions of 2014: Coxless four

Kelsey Bevan (left) and Kayla Pratt dominating their heat of the women's pairs at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships. Photo / APNZ

Kelsey Bevan, Kerri Gowler, Kayla Pratt, Grace Prendergast (coxless four)
Sport: Rowing

Fast water on Amsterdam's Bosbaan helped the women's four beat the eight-year-old world-best time by more than 10 seconds in 6:14.36 at the world championships. They won by more than six seconds in the non-Olympic class, leading throughout.

The performance of Gowler, Prendergast, Bevan and Pratt was all the more impressive given they'd only formed into a combination a month beforehand.

The crew quickly established a rhythm to establish a boat length's lead after 700m. They only added to their advantage beyond halfway.

The four illustrated the depth in Rowing New Zealand's sorority and added fuel to the belief a competitive women's eight might stand a chance of being formed before the next year's world championships where five crews can qualify for the Rio Olympics.

A further two eights will grab spots at the 'Regatta of Death' in May 2016. The result also reinforced the hunger for women's boat places at Karapiro HQ.

Prendergast and Gowler are already contenders for a spot in the women's pair next year after winning the under-23 world title by almost 13 seconds in Varese, Italy and beating women's pair incumbents Rebecca Scown and Louise Trappitt to the silver medal at the elite World Cup in Lucerne. They held an advantage over the senior crew for the duration, holding them off by 5.42s at the finish.

Scown and Trappitt still made the podium before delivering bronze behind Britain and the United States at the world champs. It was Scown's third bronze in as many years after reaching the podium at the Olympics with Juliette Haigh and the 2013 world champs with Pratt.

"It hasn't been the easiest of seasons," Scown said. "The Brits were tough but we put up a good fight and reached one of our goals which was to get a medal."

- Andrew Alderson