Kirsty McCann takes gold at rowing world championships

Kirsty McCann powered from third place at halfway to win the lightweight women’s single sculls crown at the rowing world championships in the US on Friday. 

The South African had a narrow 0.15sec advantage over the field at the 500m mark on the 2km course at Sarasota-Bradenton on Florida’s west coast. 

But at 1000m she had slipped to third place behind Holland’s rising star Marieke Keijser and Patricia Merz of Switzerland.

That’s when McCann kicked, overhauling Merz and closing the gap on Keijser to a little less than a second — and then she found an extra reserve of rocket fuel as she torpedoed into the lead and shut out the field, winning by more than two seconds in the end.  

She crossed the line in 7min 38.78sec.

McCann, who with Ursula Grobler became the first SA women to bag senior world championship silverware at the last showpiece in 2015 when they took bronze in the lightweight double sculls, is now the country’s first female rowing world champion. 

This is also SA’s second-ever rowing gold, after James Thompson and John Smith won the lightweight men’s double sculls at the 2014 edition.