Rowing: Tunisia romps to gold
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday May 27, 2014 10:46
Tunisia won the race in a time of 03:35.24secs. South Africa was second with a time of 03:35.24secs.
It was a closely contested race and Tunisia managed to take the gold right at the end. Egypt got bronze after crossing the line in 03:57.04secs. Botswana finished sixth in the 12 team relay with a time of 05:09.06secs.
Tunisia coach, Sahbi Khardani told Mmegi Sport the training the team received in Italy has paid dividends.
He said the aim is qualify for the Niajing Youth Olympics and the World Youth Championships. He said South Africa gave them tough competition and his team won largely due to the strength of the rowers.
Khardani said his country has been involved in the sport for many years and has strong club competitions. He said it is always difficult for Tunisia to pick its national team and rowers have to work hard to be selected.
Meanwhile, Botswana coach, Rob Mclaggan said his charges did well considering it is a relatively new sport.
He said the competition has given the players exposure and much-needed experience. Mclaggan said they now know which mistakes to rectify.
He stated that other countries have been doing rowing as a sport for ages unlike Botswana where it was introduced recently. In other results, Tunisia won gold medals in the Boys individual while South Africa scooped gold in the Girls individual categories. Botswana finished sixth in the individual Boys category out of 12 countries.