Indoor Rowing Report - by Bernie Carter

Just short of 200 competitors turned up for the indoor rowing competition over two days at the Games Village Headquarters. This was a record number of competitors who set many NZ and world records.

Bob Bridge and his dedicated team of helpers did a tremendous job of organising and running a very successful event under difficult circumstances.

Warren Mant from Bulls, a 36-year-old air force PT instructor, was the star. He set a number of New Zealand and world age-group records.

His 500m time of 1:18.7 was two seconds under the old record and is the second fastest time ever recorded by any New Zealander, just 0.1s slower than former national singles sculls champion Gary Roberts (2002). Mant's effort equalled the time rowed by current world on-water singles champion Mahe Drysdale when in the 19-26 age grade and by fellow world champion George Bridgewater.

Mant shaved 12.2s off the New Zealand 2000m record set by former national singles sculls champion Gary Reid in 1998 with a time of 5:57.3.

On the second day he won his 1000m event, taking a massive 10 seconds off the national age-group record and bagging the world record in the process. He also shaved nearly a full second off the 300m national record in winning that event.

Fastest women over 500m were Victorian Doreen Gallagher, 43, with 1:41.1 and New Plymouth's Desiree Avery, 50, with 1:43.7.

Fastest woman over 2000m was former world outdoor medal winner Jackie Abraham, 27 (Wanganui) with 7:16.3.

Iti Joyce, a former NZ basketball rep from Kerikeri, became the first woman to row under 17 seconds for 100m while Doreen Gallagher and Shirley Godkin from Timaru also posted world records. Godkin took two seconds off her own world record in the 60-64 open-weight 1000m event set last year in Auckland.

Rose Jacobs (Hamilton), aged 92, was the second oldest of the 7000 Games competitors and created new world times over 100m (32.3s) and 300m (1:43.7).