North Shore paddler Teneale Hatton capped a magnificent weekend with her fourth medal at the Australian surf lifesaving championships in Perth today.
With three golds already in the 18-year-old Orewa club member's possession, from the under-19 ski race and taplin, and open women's ski relay, Hatton came within metres of a brilliant finish in the open women's ski race on Scarborough Beach.
Competing for Australian club Kurrawa, Hatton led for the entire race before Northcliffe pair Casey Leo-Litzow and Australian-based Frenchwoman Flora Manciet picked up a back wave and beat her into the beach.
The young flatwater kayaking star, who won a gold medal at the Youth Olympics this year, finished with the bronze medal.
"I was a bit gutted to finish like that but I had a pretty good weekend and I'm quite happy with most of my results so I can't be too disappointed," Hatton said.
"It's definitely an improvement on last year."
Hatton defended the under-19 ski race title she won last year, heading home good friend and clubmate Rachel Clarke in the final.
Hatton and fellow New Zealander Madison Boon helped Kurrawa's under-19 women's taplin team to victory, along with Australian Briana Nelson, and she was also in Kurrawa's open women's ski relay team who won gold.
Boon had to settle for second in the under-19 ironwoman final, despite collecting a decent lead after the swim leg.
She punched through a big set of waves heading out on the board but was caught on the beach coming back in and outsprinted for the line by Kristen Askew, of Burleigh Heads.
Clarke, who won the open and under-19 ironwoman double at the New Zealand championships in Gisborne last week, helped Kurrawa's second team to a bronze medal in the under-19 taplin.
There was further success in the under-19 women's ranks, with Mt Maunganui's Chelsea Maples snatching a bronze in the beach flags and a further bronze in the beach sprint, behind Hayley Wyper, of Burleigh Heads, and Elly Graf, of Cronulla.
Maples ended her campaign with a fourth in the open women's beach sprint.
Taranaki sprint gun Paul Cracroft-Wilson narrowly missed holding both New Zealand and Australian open flags titles in the same year when losing to seven-time champion Simon Harris, of Northcliffe, in the final.
Cracroft-Wilson also finished second to Harris last year, after dethroning the Queensland champion in the 2007 final.
Hamilton firefighter Morgan Foster was fourth in the flags final.
Cracroft-Wilson did get some reward, however, helping his Kurrawa club to a gold in the beach relay final.
Meanwhile, four-time New Zealand ironman champion Daniel Moodie reached the ironman final, with the Hawke's Bay athlete joining an illustrious cast of Australian stars like Dean Mercer, Zane Holmes and Shannon Eckstein.
He finished near the tale of the race, won by Australian Pierce Leonard.
