IT took them three attempts, but Port Macquarie-Maroro Outrigging Club took home a gold medal from Queensland last weekend.
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After claiming the bronze in 2015 and silver in 2016 in the open division, the masters women were primed to make the step up to claiming gold.
It was the end result of two years of hard work and dedication after the club realised they had the potential to compete against the best crews in the country.
Port Macquarie steerer and crew captain Chayanne Harihi said they combined well as a team and executed their plan perfectly in the 10-kilometre course.
“There was a total of 58 starters so we needed a clean start because a lot of carnage can happen at the beginning,” she said.
“We needed to get out and get moving.”
The Port Macquarie girls completed the course in a time of 59 minutes and 44 seconds – two minutes ahead of Tweed Heads who finished second.
“We knew we had to work really hard and once we got off to our start we settled into a rhythm,” Harihi said.
They didn’t have it all their own way, after rounding the first turn in second spot.
Harihi used her years of experience as a steerer to put Port Macquarie in a position where they could make their move later in the race.
“At the first cone – it was a rectangular course – we were just behind,” she said.
“But I made sure I positioned the girls on the inside because I’ve been doing this for a while and know how to position the crew to achieve the right result.”
As well as beating the other Australian crews there were two crews from New Caledonia.
Harihi admitted her crew had put in the hard work over the last two years and was pleased it had paid off.
“This season we wanted to aim higher and we knew we’d be up there, but never expected to perform as well as we did,” she said.
“It’s endless training sessions and dedication; we still surprised ourselves.
“We have been building to a gold medal and even though we raced in the master’s women this year and not the open division it was still a tough competition.”
After the hard work at the start, Port Macquarie was in a position to enjoy the finish to the race and Harihi said they now “had one medal of each colour.”
“Being Australian champions means a lot to us because it is a fiercely contested competition,” she said.
“We’ll wear our gold medals like necklaces for the next couple of weeks.”
Harihi said it was a proud moment for the ladies.
“We wanted to see what happens when we aim a bit higher than our previous efforts,” she said.
Port Macquarie’s masters mixed crew finished 10th in the 16-kilometre race.