SA rowers clinch gold in championship best time

Damien Bonhage-Koen and Christopher Baxter cracked a meet best as they won gold for South Africa in the men’s pair at the under-23 world championships in Varese, Italy, on Friday.

They built up a lead of nearly two seconds by the 1,000-metre halfway mark before stroking to victory in 6 min 19.99 sec, ahead of Lithuania (6:21.25) and Romania (6:23.28). 

The previous championship mark of 6:20.06 was set by a French crew at the 2017 edition.

The victory ensures the continuation of a proud SA tradition of men’s pair silverware at the age-group regatta.