24-year-old breaks women s shearing record in 9 hours
19 January 2021 |
The New Zealander has set a new women’s nine-hour lamb shearing record (Photo: Shearing Sports NZ/Facebook)
A 24-year-old sheep shearer from New Zealand has shattered the women s shearing record - clipping 661 lambs in nine hours.
Megan Whitehead sheared the 34-36kg lambs at an average of just 49 seconds each, according to Shearing Sports NZ, the governing body for competitions.
The record was broken on Wednesday 13 January at the Grant Brothers’ Gore woolshed.
She was chasing the previous record of 648 set in 2007 by fellow Kiwi shearer Emily Welch.
Welch and other female shearing legends were both among the hundreds who urged Whitehead on during the day.
For seven months she swore off caffeine, alcohol, bread and sugar and went to the gym six nights a week, all the while holding down a fulltime shearing job. She dropped from 68kg to 60kg, building more muscle on her lean frame. “I am the fittest I have ever been.” That said, she was “struggling a bit” in the last run on Thursday, with the lambs not always compliant. “I had to counsel myself mentally and I had Dad there keeping me positive . because if one kicks, and you are losing seconds, you have to forget about it and just keep moving forward.”
Press Release – Shearing Sports New Zealand
Megan Whitehead mid-way during her shearing record, with father and clockwatcher Quentin Whitehead looking on from the next pen. Photo / Supplied. A sprightly Southland shearer has today smashed a womens world record by clipping 662 lambs in nine
Megan Whitehead mid-way during her shearing record, with father and clockwatcher Quentin Whitehead looking on from the next pen. Photo / Supplied.
A sprightly Southland shearer has today smashed a women’s world record by clipping 661 lambs in nine hours in a woolshed near Gore.
Tipping the scales at just 60kg, standing just 1.7m tall and shearing and despatching the average 34-36kg lambs at an average of less than 50 seconds each, 24-year-old Megan Whitehead was chasing the previous record of 644 set in 2007 by Waikato shearer Emily Welch.
As she closed in on 5pm the crowd in the shearing shed chanted “Megan, Megan, Megan” and gave her a standing ovation as the last shorn lamb went down the chute. She gave her father, Quinton, a big hug after putting down the handpiece. He s been with her all day supporting her. Jills Angus Burney, who set the original record of 541 lambs in January 1989, and later set a further record shearing 614 has been in Gore watching Whitehead’s attempt. She hosted Whitehead when she set the four-stand women’s world record of 2066 lambs in 2020. She ll smash it, Angus Burney said at the afternoon tea break.