Whanganui High School Sports
Whanganui’s Jake Newton has returned from Australia with three gold medals at the 2025 Australian Beach Sprints Rowing Championships.
The 17-year-old claimed gold in the under-19 age-level events: the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed coxed quads.
Newton represented Aramoho-Whanganui Rowing Club (AWRC) and New Zealand as part of the Coast Busters team, made up from clubs across New Zealand.
Newton’s partner in the doubles was West End Rowing Club’s Tim Reeves. His crewmates in the coxed quads were Amy Akehurst (West End Rowing Club), Emily Pengally and Arthur Crimmins (Bay of Plenty Coast Rowing Club), coxed by Ryan Slater.
The championships were held at Monterey Beach, New South Wales, from Newton was proud of his efforts at a young age in a sport he was still fairly new to.
“I blew my expectations away with how I performed,” he said.
“I had been doing some hard trainings going into it, but not that many of them. To come away with three golds was more than I had anticipated. I was really just doing it for the experience of meeting some new people and getting some time away and some sunshine.”
The Whanganui High School head boy said he enjoyed the chance to rub shoulders with other great athletes.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to meet a broader range of young athletes who are in a similar position to me, wanting to get into a bit of coastal [rowing] on top of flat-water rowing,” Newton said.
“I also thought it was a really great experience for meeting people such as Joe Sullivan and Mike Brake, who are both Olympic champions, building up the number of people and expertise that I can now tap into for advice on top of the incredible support I have here in Whanganui.”
Unlike his experience in Italy last year, the conditions were ideal for racing.
“The sandy beach and calm surf made a huge difference. With a bit more experience under my belt, I was able to focus and really perform,” Newton said.
Newton was recently awarded Single Sculler of the Year at the Whanganui Rowing Association prizegiving.
He put his success down to the support of his family, teachers and coaches, particularly AWRC head coach Axel Dickinson.
Dickinson said it had been fulfilling to be part of Newton’s journey and he was excited to see where the teenager went.
“Jake is ambitious, hardworking and those cumulative years of hard graft are coming to fruition with some incredible opportunities both athletically and academically,” Dickinson said.
“Rowing is a punishing sport at times but it develops some incredibly resilient and ambitious people. As a club, we’re most proud of our athletes and Jake is a great example.”
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Photo Insert
Whanganui rower Jake Newton (third left) won three gold medals at the 2025 Australian National Beach Sprint Rowing Championships. He is pictured with (from left) New Zealand rower Michael Brake, Leonardo Bachus, former NZ rower Gary Reid, Arthur Crimmins and NZ rower Joe Sullivan.
16/10/25