Championship Loss
The next challenge came from fellow New Zealander Richard Arnst with the stake at £500 a side. The sum of £500 would be the amount of money earned over several years by a working man at the time. The match was held on the Whanganui River on 15 December 1908 and Arnst won by eight or ten lengths. A rematch between Arnst and Webb was arranged for 22 June 1909 on the same course. A fast time of 18m.15s was recorded by Arnst who again won, this time by two to three lengths.
Webb was involved in several smaller races after this but it was not until 26 December 1910 that his next major professional race took place. No title was involved but the stake was £200 a side. This race was held on the Whanganui River and was against the Australian Champion Harry Pearce. He was a formidable rower, having defeated a record five challenges in the previous year for his Australian Title. Pearce won the race by two lengths despite the best efforts of Webb. Pearce was later an unsuccessful challenger for the World Championship.
Read more about this topic: William Webb (rower)
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