Rotorua waka ama veteran grabs national medal haul
27 Jan, 2021 07:37 PM
2 minutes to read
Te Au Rere Waka team from Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua Daily Post
A veteran Rotorua waka ama competitor has proven age is just a number.
Maylene Papuni, 54, has added to her career medal haul with a gold, silver and bronze at the National Waka Ama Championships held at Lake Karapiro.
Papuni, who represented New Zealand at the Waka Ama World Championships in Tahiti in 2018, paddled to a silver medal in the individual women s final and bronze with her Rotorua club Te Au Rere Waka.
She was then selected to race in the national W12 s 500m final for Te Puku O Te ika, winning gold. The Te Puku O Te ika (the stomach of the fish) region includes Huntly, Tauranga, Ōpōtiki and across to Taranaki.