WORLD AND AUSTRLAIAN RECORDS TUMBLE AT INDOOR ROWING
Pamela Downing and Sue Lyon broke 100m world records as a host of indoor rowers set 15 Australian records over the two-day Pan Pacific Masters Games competition at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Downing covered the 100m sprint distance in 24.9 seconds in the women’s heavyweight 75-79 division, while Lyon clocked 22.5 seconds in the women’s adaptive heavyweight 60–64 division (PR3-PD). Both performances set Australian and world records.
In the endurance rowing events on the opening day of competition on Monday, Safety Beach (NSW) rower Mary-Ann Millar break a 20-year Australian record after adding the 2000m record to the 1000m record she already holds in the women’s lightweight 55-59 category.
Millar had twice rowed faster than the Australian 2000m record, however, neither had counted as one was achieved before her Australian citizenship had been approved and the second was achieved as a heavyweight after missing the lightweight limit by just 400 grams.
However, Millar finally claimed the 2,000m record she had been craving in a time of 7:47.7.
“I’ve got what I wanted,” she said. “The rest is fun.”
“I thought I’d be marginally under 7:50, but it was quite a bit under, so that was good.”
Phillip Price took just 21.5 seconds to set the Australian men’s lightweight 90+ record, while Matt Willoughby completed the sprint in 19.1 seconds for a national record in the 85-89 lightweight division.
Even the clock couldn’t separate Ellis Fisher and Greg Burchell. Both men finished in 15.2 seconds to share gold and the Australian heavyweight 65-69 record.
In the heavyweight 70-74 races, Doreen Gallagher set the women’s national mark in 19.2 seconds and Michael Van Kraay claimed the men’s in 15.9. Patricia Hira-Creagh clocked 17.2 seconds in the women’s heavyweight 60-64 event.
Two Australian records fell in the women’s 50-54 division, with heavyweight Rachelle Patterson finishing in 17.7 seconds and lightweight Jenny Knight in 18.9. Adaptive rowers Maria Strong (women’s heavyweight 55-59, 20.6), Leon Coad (men’s heavyweight 60-64, 17.5) and Stephen Hennessy (men’s lightweight 55-59, 18.3) also set national marks.
