Murray ‘had lost buzz of winning’
Double Olympic champion Eric Murray is retiring from rowing.
His decision, first revealed in Woman’s Day magazine, means his unbeaten record in the coxless pair with Hamish Bond will come to an end at 69 races.
Murray and Bond, known collectively as Kiwipair, won Olympic gold in record time in London in 2012 and again in Rio last year, and never dropped a single competitive race across either cycle.
The pair joined Mahe Drysdale in taking a break from the sport after last year’s games, and Bond has since embarked on a road cycling career – whether for a year, or longer – and has achieved plenty of early success.
In his interview with Woman’s Day, Murray said his focus is on his family going forward, and that his heart is no longer in rowing. ‘‘I always said as long as my mind, my body and my heart were in it, then I could do this for as long as I like. My mind’s been pretty good, my body’s been pretty good, but it was my heart that was on the fence. So, it’s time to go.’’
The 34-year-old also said that he has lost ‘‘the buzz’’ from winning.
‘‘[Hamish and I] made a legacy in the sport and we got to the point where we were always winning, but it was playing on our minds and wearing us down. When we won a race, it was like, job done. We didn’t get that elation anymore.’’
In January, Murray told Fairfax Media that there were a wide range of options on the table for his career going forward.
‘‘It depends around where our motivations lie – if there’s a really good squad going around at Rowing New Zealand you think, s..., the eights are going to win some medals, would that be better? Would it be better to go back in the pair – you’ve got to have a look at what’s going around in the world,’’ he said at the time.
Murray had knee surgery after the Olympics, but had returned to action – cycling, using rowing machines, and doing weights – at the start of this year.
He had resumed training knowing that he would have to get his fitness back to join Rowing NZ’s summer training squad come the end of the year, but he has now decided to call time on his illustrious career.
In addition to their two Olympics golds, Murray and Bond won six world championship titles in the coxless pair, as well as one in the coxed pair. Murray was also a member of a world champion coxless four in 2007.
As a pair, they had plenty of success at the Halberg awards, winning team of the year three times, in 2009, 2012, and 2014, and the supreme award twice, in 2012 and 2014.