7 Nov 2010

NZ now has 10 medals from rowing champs

6:12 pm on 7 November 2010

New Zealand double scullers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan have beaten Britain to win gold on the last day of the World Rowing Championships on Lake Karapiro.

New Zealand's Louise Ayling won a silver medal in the lightweight women's single sculls.

Germany's Marie-Louise Draeger won by several boat-lengths while Ayling was pushed hard for second in a tight race.

Four medals - two golds - on Saturday

New Zealand won two gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the World Rowing Championships on Saturday.

The men's pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray beat Great Britain in a thrilling race, taking first place only in the last metre.

Bond said the race didn't go according to plan because they didn't get out front and control the race.

The women's pair, Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh, won gold decisively, never seriously threatened by the rest of the field.

Scown says everything fell into place and she's very happy she can say she's a world champion.

She says the pair controlled the race and felt comfortable and confident.

New Zealand sculler Mahe Drysdale took silver, failing to defend his title.

He says he never found the extra power needed to beat his rival, Czech Ondrej Synek, and successfully defend his world single sculls rowing title.

Drysdale says he is not too disappointed by his result, because it comes after months of recovering from a back injury, and believes he has what it takes to regain his world title.

The single sculler Emma Twigg has taken bronze, her first world championship medal. The winner was Sweden's Frida Svensson.

New Zealand finished the championships third on the medal table with a total of 10: three gold, three silver and four bronze.