New champ's parents 'very proud'

Bill Uru admits he is still coming to grips with the fact he is the proud father of not just one but two world champions.

At 12.40 yesterday morning he and his wife Robbie huddled around a computer at their Myross Bush property near Invercargill.

What they were about to watch was something special, something Mr Uru admitted he didn't see coming. They sat staring at the screen as youngest son Jade won gold as part of the New Zealand four at the world under-23 rowing championships in the Czech Republic.

Jade's success comes just two years after his older brother Storm also won a title at the world under-23 championships.

"You always have dreams for your kids but to see them do it themselves is pretty amazing," Mr Uru said yesterday.

Mr and Mrs Uru had not expected to watch Jade's final live until they got a phone call from Storm just 10 minutes before the race started.

Storm is in Switzerland with the New Zealand elite rowing squad and he discovered a Czech Republic television station was screening the race live on the internet.

While the Urus had been hopeful Jade could join Storm as a world champion, Mr Uru said what eventuated was "amazing".

"To be honest, we didn't expect this to happen. We didn't get much sleep after that last night. We were both very proud parents," he said.

Jade's win means he and team-mates Hamish Burson, Simon Watson and Tyson Williams have been given the green light by Rowing New Zealand to attend the elite world championships in Poland next month.

It also means the Uru family will have two rowers competing in Poland, with Storm lining up in the lightweight double.

The rare family feat has got Mr and Mrs Uru thinking hard.

"We're going to have to seriously think about trying to fund ourselves to get over there. It's something we wouldn't want to miss," Mr Uru said.

- © Fairfax NZ News