New Zealand's rowing campaign at the Tokyo Olympics has started well with single scullers Jordan Parry and Emma Twigg qualifying for the quarter-finals this afternoon.
Parry, the first of five Kiwi boats in action today, finished second in his heat at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, with a time of 7:04.45 to finish 4.96 seconds behind winner, Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece.
Ntouskos developed an early lead in the first 500 metres of the race with Peru's Alvaro Torres Masias giving Parry a run for money, pushing the Kiwi back to third at the first mark.
Torres Masias continued to stick with Parry for the next 1000 metres; the two neck-and-neck at both the 1000m and 1500m marks while Ntouskos had managed to extend his lead.
Parry had a strong finish though, closing the margin on the Greek rower while the Peruvian faded to third, a further three seconds back from Parry.
The 25-year-old Kiwi said he was just stoked to be on the water.
"It's been a long time coming, we were just ready for something rusty to start with," Parry said.
"I was pretty happy with just getting this one under the belt, [securing the quarter-final spot] and just working from here."
Twigg's race was much easier, with the Kiwi rower jumping out to an early lead in heat six that she never surrendered despite the efforts of Dutch rower Sophie Souwer and Serbia's Jovana Arsic.
Twigg grew her lead throughout the race consistently, adding on a second at each 500m mark before finishing with a time of 7:35.22, four seconds clear of Souwer.
New Zealand still have three more boats competing this afternoon with the men's and women's double sculls racing their heats before the women's quad wraps up the Kiwi action for day zero.
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