World's best will be rolling on the river

It would be fair to say I'm not much for water sports. I don't swim well, have never been surfing, have tried waterskiing only once or twice and am loathe to even consider diving.

Suffice to say I have never tried my hand at rowing. Sure, I've got on to one of those machines they have at the gym and quite liked it, but in an actual boat - no. Perhaps I might have, and even quite enjoyed it, had it been more prominent where I grew up but no, rowing is one of the few sports I have not tried. That's not to say I can't appreciate the skill, endurance and strength involved. Especially so at elite level, where competitors propel themselves and their boats across 2km in about seven minutes. Those who do so are fine athletes and Wanganui, and New Zealand, have turned out some of the best.

From the sidelines, or the comfort of your armchair, it is a fascinating sport to watch. Someone will come out of the blocks flying, build a lead, then be overtaken in the middle stages, only for the result to be determined in the final frantic metres as the sprint-finish specialists wind into action.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the London Olympics and I can still recall the pride - and goosebumps - as crew after crew excelled; including the women's pair of Juliette Haigh and Wanganui's Rebecca Scown. The pinnacle was the two golds in 40 minutes by the men's pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, and then Mahe Drysdale in the single sculls.

And now we get to share the marvels of world-class athletes in competition on our own doorstep. Four Olympic gold medallists will race on the Whanganui River in the Billy Webb Challenge in December.

It's an exciting proposition and looks set to cap off a huge weekend which will also see many of the country's leading rowers in action in the Jury Cup, corporate eights - a crowd favourite from the last event - and hydroplanes racing at extreme speed.

The eyes of the world will be focused on our riverbank and the stretch of the awa on which the races are run and if the last Billy Webb event is anything to go by, thousands are likely to line the Whanganui River to cheer on the rowers.

It stands to be a memorable occasion, and to have four Olympic gold medal winners competing here in the same year as the Games is a coup for organisers and a measure of the regard in which the event is held. Mark it in your dairy, as I certainly will be. It's one water sports event I wouldn't want to miss.

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