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Nicomekl rowers claim gold in Lake Stevens

White Rock residents Helen Healy and Mary Tisdelle finish on podium at Washington regatta.

Two members of the Nicomekl Rowing Club had plenty to celebrate in Washington last month, after gold-medal wins at a Lake Stevens regatta.

Helen Healy and Mary Tisdelle – both White Rock residents – won gold in both the masters women’s pairs and quads races at the regatta, which featured rowers from a number of U.S.-based clubs.

“They did very well for themselves,” Nicomekl Rowing Club coach Derek Pattison said.

In rowing, teams row in categories based on the average age of the team members, Pattison explained. Healy and Tisdelle average 63 years old, and beat competition that was younger than them. In fact, they won “straight up” – they were fast enough on the water to win without factoring in the age handicap, which alters race times.

“The crews with a time handicap were still unable to overcome the margin of victory, so these were particularly good results for (Healy and Tisdelle),” Pattison said.