World champions remain absent
It’s not just Hamish Bond missing from Rowing New Zealand’s superstar performers this summer.
While three-time Olympic medallist Mahe Drysdale has returned from a sabbatical to chase another gong at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a swag of world champions continue to be missing from the elite training squad.
They include Rio silver medallist Genevieve Behrent, the dual world champion lightweight women’s double sculls crew of Julia Edward and Sophie Mackenzie and classy sculler Zoe Stevenson.
While none of them have told Rowing NZ they are giving up the sport, it may be a surprise to see any of them return - at least in time for a tilt at Tokyo.
Behrent teamed up with Rebecca Scown in the New Zealand women’s pair in Rio, while both were also part of the eight.
They claimed silver in the pair before Behrent skipped the 2017 season at home and in Europe.
The 27-year-old is currently working in the banking industry and may choose a career over rowing now she has an Olympic medal. Should see return, a spot in the eight would seem the most likely spot to pursue after Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast made a big bid to be the pair option for Tokyo with gold at this year’s world championships in the United States.
Stevenson suffered a disappointment in Rio when she and Eve Macfarlane finished last in the B final of the women’s double sculls after entering the regatta as one of the gold medal favourites - the duo won world champs the previous year while Stevenson had won gold in silver in 2014 and 2013 respectively with Fi Bourke.
The 26-year-old is now studying medicine, which will leave little time for rowing.
Edward and Mackenzie won world champs gold in 2015 and 2014 and were also among the favourites to top the podium in Rio but finished out of the medals in fourth place.
Edward, 26, and Mackenzie 25, would have to get past newlycrowned world champs to get their seats back. Many considered Zoe McBride unlucky not to be part of the crew for Rio and after winning world champs gold in the nonOlympic lightweight single scull class in 2015 and 2016, she teamed up with Jackie Kiddle to romp to victory in the US. That strongly hinted that the young duo McBride is 22, Kiddle 23 - have the inside running towards Tokyo.
Bond appears fully committed towards a cycling push for Tokyo instead of in a boat. The 31-year-old fell short of what he was hoping to achieve a the world time trial champs in Norway in September, but was notably hampered by a puncture and he made enough progress this year to indicate a spot in the NZ team for next year’s Commonwealth Games will be his next big international outing.
Emma Twigg’s rowing career appeared to be over after she finished fourth in the women’s single scull in Rio - four years after the heartbreak of fourth in London.
After taking time off in prior to Rio to gain a Fifa Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, Twigg is now working for the IOC in Switzerland. However, the 30-yearold was back in a rowing boat recently and is understood to be doing triathlons, with the possibility she is not completely out of the picture for Tokyo 2020.