Rowing ambassadors

A Vietnamese rowing team, hosted by the Uniting Church’s Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange and coached by school bursar Joe Donnelly, headed back to Vietnam early this month after some notable successes.

The team of six rowers came away from a two-day regatta at the Sydney Olympic Course with five gold medals and two bronze medals in seven events entered.

As a result of the fine performances by the athletes it was thought there was a good chance of qualifying a men’s and women’s lightweight double scull and a women’s heavyweight single scull for the 2012 Olympics through the qualifying regatta in Asia next year — possibly a first for Vietnam rowing.