SportInBrief

Silver For Decathlete

“We’ve done things like waterproofing because a wet sleeping bag is no fun,” Nick added. With a Waikawa stopover added this year, a special moment this year will come when the duo enter the familiar waters of the Marlborough Sounds –“where I grew up sailing” – and Nick’s not expecting too much backseat driving from the older Gardiner.

“Dad is a very safe sailor. He hasn’t grown up as much with the racing side of things, so I’ve tried to teach him faster ways of steering and I think he has some real potential,” Nick said.

“I have resigned myself to the fact that I’ll be doing most of the foredeck stuff and the sail changing but I’ll endeavour to get Dad as involved as possible to make my life easier.”

The RNI was created over a number of jugs of beer at the Masonic Hotel in Devonport, Auckland in 1976 by Sir Peter Blake and Martin Foster. The idea was based on Sir Peter’s experience in the Round Britain Race, and Martin’s experience of sailing around New Zealand in his yacht Truant.

The first race was started in 1977 by Prince Philip off Devonport Wharf as part of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee tour. First to finish was Sir Peter Blake and Graham Eder on the yacht Gerontius.

Decathlete James Hansen picked up a silver medal in the men’s under-20 NZ Decathlon Championships held at Cooks Gardens, Whanganui over the weekend. James amassed a total of 6161 points and four personal bests over the two-day competition. His pole vault and overall decathlon results were also Tasman Athletics records.

Rowers Named

Marlborough rowers have been included in national squads named at the weekend. Kobe Miller will be part of the NZ under-23 quad to attend the U23 world champs in Bulgaria during July. Mark Stallard is one of the coaches. Fred Vavasour will also don the black singlet, as part of the under-21 NZ team to take on Australian and Canadian rivals at Lake Karapiro, also in July. Former Picton rower Charlotte Lightfoot is also included in the squad.

Mtb Champs

The Marlborough contingent at the national mountain bike champs in Queenstown enjoyed a successful two days. Neve McKenzie finished fourth in the under-17 female cross country, while Maddy Sinclair was first home in the female sport category. Lachlan McNabb came home fourth in the under-19 male cross country race, with Finn McKenzie 12th. In the short course cross country Lachlan was 15th overall, and third under-19 rider, with Finn 16th.

Jack On Track

Marlborough swimmer Jack Bugler had a memorable time at the recent Para Swimming World Series in Melbourne. It was Jack’s first outing in the World Para Series and he acquitted himself well, registering personal bests in three events, the 100m back, the 50m free and the 200m free. He described it as “an awesome experience”.