The 21-year-old won the under-22 coxless pair event with Cody Johnson, then dominated all three premier sweep events, helping the Avon Rowing Club secure victory in the pairs, fours, and eights.
“(It’s) pretty unreal,” he said.
“I didn’t really expect at the start of the season to win all the sweeping events in the premier grade, but I’m pretty proud of all the hard work that it took to get to that point.”
It was his first time winning the premier pairs title, adding to his past victories in the under-22 pairs and premier fours last year, as well as the premier eights in 2023.
Fortunately, Welch and teammates Ben Taylor, Flynn Watson, and Zackary Rumble were ready with paint in hand.
“There’s always a bit of tension about,” Welch said.
“Other people come in to steal it and try to paint it, but we were pretty quick to get our paint on it and secure it again.
“We didn’t really have to paint it too much because it was already in our colours, but we just touched it up, gave it a bit of a mohawk.”
Avon finished the championships with 14 gold medals, finishing second overall behind Waikato.
The club’s senior men’s and women’s eights also secured wins, with their trophies presented by the family of Ray ‘Charlie’ Flanagan, an Avon life member who died in 2019.
Avon’s men’s eight is named after Flanagan and his name is on the side of their boat.
Another top performance came from Kathryn Glen, who won the premier women’s single sculls – believed to be a first for Avon.
Looking ahead, Welch will compete for Canterbury University in the upcoming university rowing season.
He will also trial for the national under-23 team next week, followed by trials for the elite squad in three weeks.
Last year, he earned a spot on the U23 team and went on to win gold in the World Championship pairs event alongside Waikato’s Joshua Vodanovic. Now, he is ready to take the next step.
“It’s exciting to challenge myself at the next level and try to make the elite team,” Welch said.
