Fresh off defending her singles title at this year's Beach Sprint Championships in Orewa, Emma Twigg has made it clear she's chasing more gold with an eye now firmly on the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Since winning silver in the women's singles sculls at her fifth Games in Paris two years ago, the 39-year-old has shifted her focus from flatwater rowing to coastal rowing.
Twigg has described the new discipline as the "BMX of rowing" with the chaos of unpredictable conditions caused by waves, the weather and differing landscapes a far cry from the still and consistent conditions she was used to for two decades.
The change of scenery was for a number of reasons but the main one was to help coastal rowing grow here – a resounding success so far going off participation figures at the Beach Sprint champs year on year.
However, with coastal rowing's inclusion in the Los Angeles Games in 2028, the question quickly became whether she'd don the black singlet again in her new discipline.
Until now, the answer has always been along the lines of being "open" to the possibility, but after winning last year's world championships in Turkey and defending her national title today, Twigg told 1News she's ready to go again.
"I'm pretty locked in at this point. Last year was a test of the waters and it went pretty well," Twigg said.
"I've loved it, I've loved being part of developing a new sport, I seem to have found a new passion for the beach version and it's something very different, training is fresh and we've got two years to go to LA."
Twigg will certainly be used to competition though after being made to work to defend her title today against Erin James, who also represents New Zealand in coastal rowing in the mixed doubles with Matt Dunham.
The pair were neck and neck going out to the final marker 250m offshore, but a sharper turn proved the difference as she came home nine seconds ahead.
"Next year will be qualification," she said. "There's only one spot up for grabs for LA for the women and one for the men so it's going to be pretty hotly contested."
'Substantial growth'
While it was James contesting her today, it wouldn't be a surprise to see other names pop up in the next two years for any of the limited spots in the New Zealand team.
Since the inaugural Beach Sprint Championships three years ago in Wellington, the event has gained plenty of traction and attention both on and off the water.
"Two years ago, we had just on 100 competitors, today we've got 230 competitors, so substantial growth," event organiser David Vallance said.
"I suspect it's just going to keep going as we build to LA, and once it's on TV at LA, it's going to explode, I think."
Vallance added that its growth here has already been heavily influenced by the efforts of elite rowers such as Twigg and Dunham, who have held camps throughout the year to get more involved.
"Matt and Emma, I can't speak highly enough of those two, they just help out and everything, and those camps were fantastic.
"We've had some of those kids who've never been beach sprinting before come to the camps and they're competing here today, and two of the boys just won an event here, so it's fantastic to see."
For Dunham, who won the men's single title but was pipped for the mixed doubles by Twigg and Michale Brake, it's rewarding to see their efforts are already paying off.
"We've been around since about 2022 when we first went to a world camp in coastal rowing and in New Zealand it was desolate, there was a few of us playing around in the boats," he recalled.
"But it's been growing all the time, we have some camps now where we've got all the younger people, the next generation really coming up.
"Just looking around at all the infrastructure now and spectators coming to watch, it's awesome, it's so cool to see it grow."
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