World rowing champs

Rowing New Zealand will return home with no gold medals and no world champions for the first time since 2001, but eight-time champion Eric Murray insists there's no need to panic. "We're probably just a little bit disappointed for the fact that we're just used to getting a tonne of medals," he told Newshub. Murray, who combined with Hamish Bond in an 'unbeatable' pair for seven years, believes the team likely missed something crucial in the six weeks of preparation prior. Gold eludes Kiwis at world rowing champs Kiwis win first medal at world champs "Something just hasn't gone right, you know. We just haven't progressed or we've gone slightly backwards, and other people have - that's a programming situation. "To be fair, as an athlete, you probably just have to take ownership and say, 'well, did we do everything we possibly could to get there?'" New Zealand entered the regatta with three world champion crews, following a seven-medal haul in Florida last year. But they picked up just … [Read more...] about Rowing: New Zealand’s world champs failure extends beyond rowers

Mahe Drysdale's return to international competition may be brief, if his margin behind current single sculler Robbie Manson is anything to go by. Just two weeks out from his first World Cup in more than two years, the two-time Olympic champion remains about 8-12 seconds behind Manson - the man he needs to beat if he wants to compete at the world rowing championships in September. "I don’t want to give anyone else a chance at my seat," says Drysdale, a five-time world champion. "I still class it as my seat, it’s been my seat since 2005." But Manson, who claimed the world record off Drysdale in Ponzan last year, believes the seat is now his.  "I feel like every day I'm just getting better and better," he says. "I'm very confident I'll be in the single at world champs." Manson's confidence stems from the fact he's tracking much faster than Drysdale just a month out from 'D-Day', when the pair go head to head at the third World Cup in Lucerne. That race will decide who … [Read more...] about Rowing: Mahe Drysdale chasing Robbie Manson for sculling honours

By Larry RyanThe first World Cup event of the rowing season began yesterday in Belgrade. Having wintered together in Australia and New Zealand, two Skibbereen double-acts now face very different challenges. Gary and Paul O’Donovan are on top of the world to be shot down, while Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan must summon the appetite to survive the biggest test of their careers.Summer yawns in front of the four Skibbereen lads who have Ireland circled on every rowing map. Their second summer of 2018 holds great promise but also much to weigh and calculate.Paul and Gary O’Donovan must count the cost of celebrity and make sure they pay no price in speed. They must count the cost of everything and make sure they have the price of it.Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll have already calculated the steep price of an Olympic dream. Now they must make sure they don’t pay too heavily with their bodies.The four friends spent the first three months of … [Read more...] about The big interview: Skibbereen stars counting the cost of rowing faster