GRAHAM Nix finished with three gold medals and one silver at the Australian Masters Rowing Championships held on Lake Barrington in Tasmania.
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He was the best performed of a highly successful Manning contingent at the titles. There were six Manning rowers there and the club managed 24th placing out of the 93 clubs involved.
Nix is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana. He was nominated by Manning River Rowing Club.
The 70-year-old started rowing when attending Taree High School back in 1963. His enthusiasm for the sport shows no sign of waning.
At Lake Barrington Nix won the 70-75 years single scull, where he was among the youngest in the field of five in the final.
He also teamed with Roy Halliday to win a silver in the G-grade double sculls (gradings are determined on ages). Nix also earned the other two gold medals in composite quad crews.
Conditions were windy for the opening three days of the championship but fine for the final day, when Nix won the singles.
He said the singles decider was a closely fought affair over the 1000 metre course which he completed in 4.5 minutes.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,’’ he said.
He will now turn his attention to the NSW masters this weekend to be held at Penrith. Success at the national event doesn’t necessarily equate to gold medals at State-level, he said.
“There’ll be rowers who didn’t go to Tasmania at the State regatta,’’ he said.
“So you don’t know who you’ll be coming up against.’’
Nix has been a regular competitor at State and Australian masters championships since 1981 when he contested the inaugural Australia Day Veterans Championships held on Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin. These events eventually morphed into masters.
Nix had immediate success, winning the men’s single scull. His winning time was 3.43.6.
Nix rates as one of the Manning club’s most successful competitors and coaches.
“I started back in 1963 when I was at Taree High,’’ he recalled.
“They were looking for young blokes to get into the sport. I was 15.
“Robert Ferrari and David Bell were others there at the time.’’
He was a representative A-grade hockey player with the Tigers club for many years, retiring 24 years ago. However, his passion for rowing hasn’t slowed down. In fact he’s either training or on the river seven days a week.
Rowing isn’t as hard on the body as sports that require running, he explained.
“There’s not the pressure on the knees pounding into the pavement.
“It's also easier on the hips.’’
So he won’t be retiring anytime soon.
“Not while I’m still enjoying it,’’ he said.