Dunlop-Barrett siblings in lifesaving gold rush

Surf lifesaving siblings Ayla and Dylan Dunlop-Barrett had a golden weekend at the New Zealand championships at Ohope Beach.

The New Plymouth Old Boys pair won six gold medals between them, were selected in the New Zealand squad, and Dylan was named male competitor of the carnival.

"Pretty cool," was the typically modest reaction from Dylan, who celebrates his 19th birthday on Wednesday.

"The biggest surprise was being named male competitor of the tournament. I was away having a photo taken with Ayla and didn't hear it.

"When I came back, the guys were saying get up there. It was a bit of a shock."

Dylan completed a memorable campaign by winning the men's surf race on the third and final day yesterday, edging Midway's Mike Janes and Mount Maunganui's David Graham.

The nationally ranked 1500m swimmer added the surf race title to the tube rescue and board rescue titles he won earlier in the carnival and a gold in the under-19 men's run-swim-run.

"Teaming up with Glenn [Old Boys coach Glenn Anderson] in the board and tube was great. He's so experienced. It was pretty easy, he just tells me what to do," he said.

"I was a bit slow away in the surf race, but I caught them all up on the swim."

His sister sealed the sibling dominance in the open women's surf race, edging out Orewa's Rachel Clarke and Mount Maunganui's Johanna O'Connor.

Earlier in the championships she had won gold in the open women's run-swim-run.

Anderson, Ayla's partner, was the other standout performer for Old Boys.

He won the open men's run-swim-run, shading Dylan, and also added gold when teaming with Dylan in the tube rescue and the board rescue.

All three, along with Fitzroy's Paul Cracroft-Wilson, were selected in a New Zealand squad of 16 to prepare for the world championships in Egypt in October. The final team of 12 will be named next month.

Westshore's Daniel Moodie eased to his fifth consecutive New Zealand ironman title with a win over Midway's Mike Janes.

Moodie moved up to second on the all-time list, pulling ahead of Olympic kayaker Ian Ferguson and Waimairi's Geoff Walker, who both won four ironman titles, and now only has Cory Hutchings' outstanding mark of 11 in front of him.

Westshore team-mate Nikki Cox regained the women's ironman and board race titles and finished third in the ski.

Cox headed home Midway teenager Maddie Boon and defending champion Rachel Clarke, of Orewa, in the ironman and outsprinted Mount Maunganui's Chelsea Maples in the board race.

Titahi Bay's Marty McDowell cleared out for a comfortable win in the open men's ski race, while another flatwater kayaking star, Orewa's Teneale Hatton, dominated the open women's ski.

Mount Maunganui's age-group success and steady collection of open points helped it win the Allan Gardner Trophy as the best overall club, accumulating 108 over the three days.

Papamoa was second, with Mairangi Bay third on 62. Old Boys finished seventh equal on 45 and Fitzroy 19th on 11 points.

Other Taranaki medal winners were: Open men's beach sprint, Cracroft-Wilson 3rd; open women's board rescue, Ayla Dunlop-Barrett and Jamie-Lee Reynolds (NPOB) 3rd; open men's surf teams, NPOB 2nd; open men's beach flags, Steve Harris (Fitzroy) 1st, Cracroft-Wilson 2nd; under-19 men, run-swim-run, Dylan Dunlop-Barrett 1st; under-19 men, surf teams, NPOB 2nd; open women's surf teams, NPOB 2nd, open women's tube rescue, NPOB 3rd (Ayla Dunlop-Barrett and Eleish Hurley); under-19 women's surf teams, NPOB 3rd; under-19 women's tube rescue, NPOB 3rd (Caitlin Coughtery and Rebecca Heemi) ; under-16 women's beach flags, Paula Martin (NPOB) 3rd; open men's beach relay, Fitzroy 3rd; under-19 men's taplin, NPOB 2nd; under-19 women's canoe short course, Fitzroy 2nd.

- © Fairfax NZ News