As this was the last masters’ regatta before the World Masters Games, which will be held in Sydney in October, the standard of competition was extremely high.

The Port Macquarie trio of Elizabeth Levido, Robert Hopley and Jim Young more than held their own against the fancied city clubs.

All three members gained numerous gold, silver and bronze medals across a wide range of events.

Hopley improved on his performance at the state titles with a brilliant display of sculling to win the national single sculls in his age group.

He also combined with Young, overpowering a strong Sydney crew to secure the men’s G double scull.

Hopley was then invited to row with the very successful Hunter outfit to win the men’s quad scull and also gained a second in the coxed four.

Levido reaped the rewards for her hard training.

Rowing with fellow club member Young, she combined with crews from Sydney Rowing Club and Murwillumbah Rowing Club to achieve convincing victories in the mixed D and E quad sculls.

They also picked up a gutsy third place in the A mixed quad scull, competing against a strong field of rowers more than 20 years their junior.

Levido and Young also faced their age group division of the mixed double scull to score a convincing win with a margin of 16 seconds.

They also competed in a lower age group in the double scull and, despite having the roughest water on the northern side of the course, still managed a credible third place.

Apart from these successes, Levido’s biggest achievement was a third in the final of the C single scull behind a former Olympic sculler and last year’s national champion.

Showing a remarkable level of fitness, Levido, a lightweight sculler, out-rated the rest of the field by maintaining a stroke rate of 35-plus strokes per minute for the entire race.

Young also had an outstanding regatta with wins in the mixed races as well as some strong performances in his single scull and other men’s crews.

He narrowly missed the national title in his single scull by 1.9 seconds.

He then had rows in a men’s quad scull with Murwillumbah and the men’s double with Sydney Rowing Club, gaining a second place in both events.

Overall, Young secured nine medals from as many starts.

This was consistent with his last year’s performance at the nationals with eight medals from eight races.

The Port Macquarie Rowing Club is now gearing up with the intention of sending a large squad of rowers to the World Masters Regatta in October.