Competitors at Waka Ama on Lake Karapiro. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull
The Waka Ama national champs is entering its final days, with the country's greatest paddlers continuing to battle it out on Lake Karapiro.
The teams of six and 12 will be going to head-to-head on the water, with the final day on Saturday. So far, medals have already been handed out for all the single paddler categories.
One of the winners was Manutea Million, who smashed both the New Zealand and world records for fastest sprint in the Premier Men's final on Wednesday.
He paddled the 500m sprint in 1 minute and 57 seconds, beating competitor Kaycee Ngataki by only one second and multiple world title holder Tupuria King, who came third.
Kaycee Ngataki managed to take King's world champion Open Men V1 500 title in London last year.
"Really good to be able to get my title back, I wasn't able to defend my title due to Covid. I was stuck in Tahiti," he told RNZ.
"So, really happy to get my title back and especially to be able to set a new New Zealand record and a new world record too."
Million hails from Tahiti and belongs to Paniula in Tamaki Makaurau.
With such fine margins, Million doesn't take his competition lightly, even if he hasn't been training very hard.
"I haven't been training that hard because I was a little bit on holiday. So just eating food a lot, and I just had like, five trainings with the team here in Auckland... I've still got some power in it, yeah, I've got the lightning in the veins.
On Thursday, while competing with his club Paniula, the team managed to win their heats for the W6 1500m and the W12 150m.
Another club tipped to do well is Horouta from Tairawhiti, whose Golden Masters Women's team Hinewaiariki won gold in the W12 500m sprint.
Golden Masters range from 60- to 75-year-olds.
Team member Cynthia Sidney said the entire club has put in a lot of hard work to get to Nationals.
"We got off the blocks slower than we expected but we're not allowed to look out of our waka, you know keep your head in your own waka.
"Then as we were going, our coach Mihi Aston, she just said 'dig in', and go so we just gave it our all and by the team, we got to the end we were spent," Sidney said.
The team usually trains four to six times a week, but Cyclone Hale brought disruption at a crucial moment.
"We're looking forward to the 1000m sprint turning and so the goal is, obviously to get another gold," Sidney said.
Annie Cairns from New Plymouth won the masters single 500m sprint and will take to the water with her team Haeata Ocean Sports Inc.
Cairns also travelled to London for the Waka Ama World Sprint Championships last year, competing in the Master 40 Women's V1 500m, winning silver for Samoa.
She also placed fourth in the Open Women V1 500m sprint.
Cairns said she's hoping her team will be able to make the finals for both the Open Women's 500m and 1500m sprint on Saturday.
"We've got a solid group of girls, I guess it's just about marrying everybody's individual abilities and talents into being one waka. So everybody putting the power down at the same time and then keeping the timing and I'm real confident in our ladies."