Arthur Crimmins has finished fourth in the world in the U19 Men's Coastal Solo, capping a solid campaign for the young Kiwi in Qingdao.
Crimmins went straight through to the knockout rounds, setting up a quarter-final against France. He kept his composure off the start rather than forcing the boat through the waves, working himself into a good position heading for the turn. He drifted slightly off course rounding the buoy but produced a big shift on the run home to win in 2:59.94.
That victory earned him a semi-final against Greece's Iason Mouselimis, this year's flatwater champion in the single at the U19 Worlds. Crimmins trailed by just over a length at the turn, then got caught in a trough coming in. He finished in 3:10.47, five seconds adrift.
China took out the bronze-medal race in 2:56.55. Crimmins crossed in 3:08.36.
"Obviously I'm a little bit disappointed, I was trying to come back with some jewellery, but that didn't happen," Crimmins says. "But I'm going to take it in my stride, use the experience and hopefully apply it to future rowing endeavours, like I can apply it even to nationals, just being in a different place and competing there."
He was one of 24 hopefuls on the day, and leaves Qingdao ranked fourth in the world.
New Zealand's day began with Guy Smith and Leo Bacchus facing top seeds China in a quarter-final of the U19 Men's Double. They nailed the first two buoys perfectly, by Bacchus's own description, but a small error heading into the turn proved costly.
"We were maybe a boat length behind going into it," Bacchus says. "Then we missed a wave because we weren't turned quick enough. The Chinese were already blitzing it, they made three boat lengths on us which was crazy because it wasn't that bad of a turn."
China finished in 2:23.55, New Zealand in 2:28.63. Losing to the eventual champions makes the top-eight finish look fairly respectable.
Tallulah Kubaisi-Gallagher and Elizabeth Keddell also drew China in their quarter-final, this time in the U19 Women's Double. Their opponents were every bit as formidable.
"They were just powerhouses, those girls," Keddell says.
The differently shaped marker buoys at the turn had taken some adjusting to. "We weren't quite ready for the pencil buoy quick turn," Keddell says. "We were kind of in the mentality of a box course still."
China finished in 2:54.44 to New Zealand's 3:06.41, and went on to claim silver behind Great Britain.
Kubaisi-Gallagher and Keddell are hopeful this won't be their last combination together. "We have next year to try again, we're both young enough," Kubaisi-Gallagher says. "I'll just keep doing all the coastal rowing I can."
