Scullers taste professional days
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In the second year of the Billy Webb Challenge Drysdale faced Maeyens and ‘wild card’ winner, Nathan Cohen (NZL) in the three-way race, over 5130m, which emulates the race professional single sculler Billy Webb won 101 years ago. Cohen, who raced and won two days earlier over 2000m to be the wild card starter, had the early lead over Drysdale and Maeyens. On the winding river Drysdale headed for the middle of the course and managed to close on Cohen, then take the lead. Drysdale remained in the lead for the rest of the race with Maeyens never able to catch up to Cohen. Last year Drysdale finished second to Olympic Champion, Olaf Tufte of Norway. This is the first time that the women’s event has been raced and Twigg became the inaugural winner.
Kehoe was in New Zealand recently for the Great Race, stroking the women’s eight for Sydney University. In that race her Sydney University crew beat Waikato University which included Twigg. The race attracted about 20,000 spectators who were able to watch the race on a big screen as well as sit along the banks of the rowing course, along the Whanganui River. Commentated by Rowing New Zealand’s head coach, Dick Tonks and President of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Mike Stanley the race went through periods of choppy and head wind conditions before the course flattened out towards the end. Maeyens has been training in New Zealand, at the 2010 World Rowing Championships venue Lake Karapiro, over the last month in a double scull with Christophe Raes and coach Harald Jahrling. Maeyens now heads for Australia for further off season training.
Billy Webb Challenge organiser, Rob Hamill is hoping to take advantage of the World Rowing Championships being in New Zealand next year and invite the top international scullers to stay on to race in the 2010 Billy Webb Challenge. Both Twigg and Drysdale take away $5000 (USD3600) for their respective win. The final word goes to Maeyens, when asked about his regular fourth place finishes internationally (2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Rowing Championships), “Well, there’s only three boats in this race…” |
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The world sculling circuit continued for New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale with a race in his home country, Wanganui’s Prospace Billy Webb Challenge. This year Drysdale was challenged by Belgium’s Olympian Tim Maeyens while the women’s race featured top New Zealand sculler Emma Twigg and Australia’s best sculler Sally Kehoe. 
Twigg, who finished fourth at this year’s World Rowing Championships, led from the start ahead of Kehoe and wild card winner, Odette Sceats, New Zealand under-23 rower. Kehoe raced this year in the double finishing fourth at the World Rowing Championships and, sitting behind Twigg, Kehoe consistently rated higher than Twigg. Sceats remained in third for the entire race. 
In the pre-race ceremony, the great, great, great grandson of professional sculler, Billy Webb, nine year old Shayden Gardiner blew the conch shell, the Putatara, and also rowed in the ceremonial canoe, the waka of the local Maori tribe.       |  |