Manson in line for award
Robbie Manson is the men’s rowing nominee for the 2017 Marlborough Sports Awards, to be staged at the Marlborough Convention Centre on Monday, November 20.
The 28-year-old Wairau Rowing Club member produced his most memorable season in a glittering career with a stunning burst of form in Europe during June and July.
Manson made the decision to commit fully to the single sculls this season and it paid immediate dividends.
He picked up the premier single title at the national rowing championships in February, and also retained the premier double crown with Chris Harris.
Then it was on to Europe for the World Cup regattas.
At the second event, in Poznan, Poland, Manson shocked the rowing world by not only winning the singles sculls final by a considerable margin, but also setting a new world’s best time of six minutes, 30.74 seconds to eclipse Mahe Drysdale’s previous record by three seconds.
He repeated his winning effort during the following regatta, at Lucerne in Switzerland, again shading most of the world’s best scullers.
His stellar efforts earned him the chance to represent New Zealand at the world championships in the United States in late September.
His nomination is sponsored by McKendry Ford.