Kawerau paddler Steve Monk has returned home with a gold and two silver medals from the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships held in Brandenburg, Germany.

Monk is a longtime national representative, having started paddling for New Zealand at the inaugural IDBF Championships in 1995.

His previous best result was a bronze medal in Thailand in 2019.

Monk was one of 90 paddlers selected for this year’s Black Dragons squad to represent New Zealand in Germany.

His campaign began with achieving a silver medal in the Senior B Open small boat 2-kilometre event. This was followed by winning a gold medal in the Senior C Mixed small boat 200-metre category, finishing with another silver medal for the Senior C Mixed small boat 500m racing.

In total, the New Zealand squad came home with four gold medals, seven silver and one bronze, which placed it 8th out of 36 countries, proving Aotearoa can hold its own on the world stage.

It also marks the most successful Black Dragons campaign yet.

Monk has been racing in dragon boating for over 30 years, beginning with the Tasman Dragonboat team.