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Otago Daily Times
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Surf lifesavers bound for canoe world champs
Five Taylors Mistake surf lifesavers are trading ocean waves for river racing as they prepare to represent New Zealand at the Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Portugal next month. Stella Crossan and brothers Dylan and Lewis Monk will compete in the U18 division, while siblings Thomas and Natasha MacGibbon are racing in the U23 events. They all race for Arawa Canoe Club, along with Madison Garrett who was also selected in the New Zealand team. 'It's definitely a big step up from any other competitions, so it's a pretty amazing experience to just get out there and race against the best junior paddlers,' Crossan said. 'I'm beyond excited to give it a crack.' The Christchurch Girls' High School student, 17, will race in the women's K2 500m and K4 500m. Crossan made her world championship debut last year as a development athlete and now has her sights set higher – aiming to make the final in the K4 500m. 'That is our dream goal – that would definitely be something that we are shooting for,' she said. The road to get there is nothing short of rigorous, the athletes are currently training six days a week and canoeing an average of 110km weekly. The team heads to Auckland next week for a two-week training camp before travelling to Spain for another camp ahead of the world champs. 'I just love the feeling when everything comes together, when all the hard work pays off, it makes everything worth it,' Crossan said. Said Thomas MacGibbon: 'Training's pretty hard at the moment. It's definitely making us battle a bit of pain.' MacGibbon, 22, will compete in the K1 200m and 500m – where he is aiming for a podium finish – as well as the K2 500m. His top achievement so far was placing 10th in the K1 200m at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Uzbekistan last August. Natasha MacGibbon, 19, is competing in the K1 1000m and K1 500m. The two share a competitive but supportive training relationship. 'If one of us feeling down, we drag the other one along to training, so it's pretty good to have someone to make you always show up,' Thomas said. Crossan heads into the world champs with plenty of confidence off the back of a three gold medal haul at the Asia Pacific Cup in May, winning the K2, K4 and U18 mixed relay. 'It was a great feeling to do it as a team and do it for each other. 'Winning in a team just makes it that much better,' she said. For Lewis Monk, 17, competing alongside his brother Dylan, 18, makes the experience even more meaningful. 'It is still pretty unreal because we never would have imagined this when we started,' he said. 'We both push ourselves and train hard against each other. Competing with my brother is fun and there's always a bit of banter – it will be good to be racing.' The Monk brothers are racing together in the K4 mixed 500m, while Lewis will also compete in the K2 500m. Crossan, Natasha MacGibbon and the Monk brothers all started canoe racing as off-season winter filler training for surf lifesaving. 'I just fell in love with kayaking and fell in love with competing. It just kind of stuck,' Crossan said. 'I love being able to push myself hard on the river, I love working with my team and the opportunity to travel and compete against the world's best paddlers.' Her ultimate goal is to be an Olympian – eyeing up the 2032 games in Brisbane. 'I'll be gunning for that one.'
NZ Herald
20-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Medals galore for Gisborne paddlers at Asia Pacific Sprint Cup
The sprint racing in Japan featured distances of 1000m, 500m and 200m in the K1, K2 and K4. The Kiwi team finished third behind a strong Australia team, with a large host team second. Kennedy backed up her gold-medal win at last year's Asia Pacific Cup in the U16 women's division with the same success in the U18 division. She completed a clean sweep of victories in the K1, K2 and K4 events. Newman, representing her country for the first time, had gold-medal success in the U16 women's K2 and K4, and won silvers in the K1. Webb, representing New Zealand for the third year in a row at the event, proved a valuable member in the U18 women's K4. McKendry, also representing New Zealand for the third year running, did well in the mixed relays, raced the 1000m in a competitive U18 men's division and stepped up to the U21 division to help the Kiwi men win bronze in the K4. Kennedy, brother Maxwell and Webb are back training and fundraising for the 2025 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, in late July. Gisborne medal success at Asia Pacific Sprint Cup Taylor Newman – Under-16 women: Silver in K1 500m; silver in K1 200m; gold in K2 500m, gold in K4 500m; silver in mixed K2 200m; gold in mixed 200m relay. Jacqueline Kennedy – U18 women: Gold in K1 500m; gold in K1 200m; gold in K2 500m; gold in K4 500m; gold in 200m mixed relay; also silver in U21 mixed K2 200m and mega relay (6 paddlers). Hannah Webb – U18 women: Gold in K4 500m. Matt McKendry - U18 men: Gold in mixed relay; also bronze in U21 men's K4 500m. Hoskin out of the medals at World Cup Double Olympic champion paddler Alicia Hoskin and her K4 crew missed out on a medal at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup regatta in Szeged, Hungary, over the weekend. New Zealand went into the cup without Dame Lisa Carrington, who is taking a year-long break from the sport. The K4 crew of Olivia Brett, Hoskin, Tara Vaughan and Lucy Matehaere were fifth in the K4 500m final, 1.5s behind the winning crew from Spain. The Kiwis had earlier finished second in their heat and semifinal. Hoskin and Vaughan were fourth in their K2 500 semifinal, missing out on the A final and not starting in the B final. Poverty Bay Kayak Club's Quaid Thompson placed third in the C final of the K1 men's 1000m. He was fourth in his heat and eighth in his semifinal. Thompson was also 11th in the K1 5000m in 22m 46.05s. A Norwegian paddler won in 21.28.46. Aimee Fisher won gold in the K1 women's 1000m final – the New Zealand team's only medal of the event, which was dominated by the host nation. Fisher was fourth in the K1 500m final.
