She began the nine-hour day strongly in a hot Southland wool shed, clipping 153 specially-bred Snowline lambs in the first run, then followed that with subsequent runs of 132, 126, 125 and 125.
The previous record of 648 was set by Waikato’s Emily Welch in 2007, and she was on hand to watch Whitehead’s successful attempt.
Speaking after her marathon day, Whitehead described the feat as unbelievable, but downplayed it saying she was one of many capable female shearers.
She also spoke of her sacrifice, going to a gym six days a week even after a day’s shearing, changing her diet and spending recent months working in the Hawke’s Bay and King Country to prepare.
Megan Whitehead and her father Quentin after Megan set a new solo woman’s nine-hour record of shearing 661 lambs in Gore this week. Photo Natwick.
