Blessed with calm and mild weather the rowing competition of the 2009 Australian Youth Olympics wound up Sunday at Penrith with a strong overall performance from New South Wales and medals for three of the five SUBC athletes in the local team. On Saturday Nick Purnell staged a strong fight back in the last five hundred to move into the Bronze medal spot as he crossed the line behind Taylor Wilczynski of Tasmania and Michael Berry of New Zealand. A terrific effort by Nick who is not a specialist sculler.
A little later in the A Final of the Lightweight Double the SUBC combination of Ed de Carvalho and Charles Budd overcame a slightly slower start than the early leading crews to move into second behind Great Britain at the 1000 metre and held this spot to earn Silver.
Sunday saw the big boat finals starting with the New South Wales Men’s Four of Matt Dignan and Scott Woodward from Sydney Rowing Club teamed with Will Gilbert and Ryan Edwards of SUBC. The two pairs of this combination had featured at the head of the B final in that event so a podium finish was going to be tough –this proved correct with a sixth in the A final.
The Men’s Quad ( Nick Purnell, Ed de Carvalho, Charles Budd of SUBC and Alex Berzins of Sydney) were rated a strong chance to push the fancied Great Britain crew after recording a faster time in their heat. The New South Wales crew led from the start opening up 1.5 second lead at the 500m –from here the British quad came back slowly at first cutting the lead with 500 to go to 1.2 seconds – in the last 250 it looked likely that Great Britain might take the race but the New South Wales crew fought back to hold their lead at the line winning narrowly by fourteen hundredths of a second in 6.04.86. Gold to New South Wales.
In the tally for our men Nick Purnell won gold and bronze while Ed de Carvalho and Charles Budd won gold and silver.
Tom Cartmill also represented as reserve for the New South Wales team.
Thanks must go the NSW Men’s team coaches – Gary Robertson of Sydney Rowing Club and Mark Prater of Sydney Uni.
Our photo shows the New South Wales Gold Medal men’s quad from left: Charles Budd, Alex Berzins, Nick Purnell, Ed de Carvalho.