Te Puke's Karlina Steiner Wins Silver Medal in National Rowing Championships

Te Puke's Karlina Steiner has turned her attention to rowing after her Olympic dreams as an artistic swimmer came to naught. The former Te Puke High School student, who has recently returned to the school as a staff member, secured her first rowing medal – silver – as part of a women's coxed eight in a composite team made up of four rowers from Tauranga and the rest from Ōamaru at the national rowing championships on Lake Ruataniwhā in Twizel.

Steiner previously represented New Zealand at the artistic swimming world championships of 2019, 2022 and 2023, but decided against pursuing her Olympic dream when she realised she would need to find $60,000, and still might not be selected for the 2024 Olympics. "There was a lot going on, but the final straw was 'it's going to get expensive'," she said. After a friend suggested she try rowing, Steiner fell in love with the sport. "I went and did rowing and absolutely fell in love and I thought 'perfect, I love this anyway' and yeah, I just stuck with it."

Next season, Steiner will be competing in the higher club category. "It's a huge step up, but if I'm going to get anywhere with it, I'm going to have to really crack down especially with my cardio," she said.

Originally published in Te Puke News by Sun Media.