Waikato Times

Golden days over for Murray

- ROWING

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 London in 2012 and 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 cycling career, achieving 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.’’

He 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 Stuff 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.’’

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.

 ?? GETTY IMAGES ?? Rower Eric Murray has revealed his retirement from the sport.
GETTY IMAGES Rower Eric Murray has revealed his retirement from the sport.
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