Easy victory as Manson leaves Drysdale in his wake
It is Robbie Manson who has the early advantage over double Olympic Games champion Mahe Drysdale in the hotly contested men’s single scull, and by some margin too.
Manson, returning to the sport after an injury-plagued past two months, left Drysdale in his wake at the Christmas rowing regatta at Lake Karapiro yesterday, easily winning the men’s single scull final in 6min 38.24sec.
Drysdale, who has had an even longer spell on the sidelines, only just returning from a year break following his dramatic victory in Rio, was well off the pace, finishing more than 14 seconds back in sixth place.
John Storey, world champion in the double sculls, was Manson’s closest competitor on the day, crossing in second in 6min
40.14sec. His New Zealand teammate Chris Harris was third in
6min 45.26sec.
Although he is just returning to training, the result is an early setback for Drysdale, who plans to compete for a third consecutive Olympic Games gold medal in Tokyo in 2020.
Although the margin was probably wider than expected, 28-yearold Manson’s win came as no surprise, having set a new world’s best time for the class of 6min
30.74sec in Poland earlier this year.
A record 2263 rowers are competing at the Christmas regatta.