Rowing: Southern oarsman dominant at champs

Wet conditions greeted spectators at Lake Ruataniwha at the weekend. Photo supplied.
Wet conditions greeted spectators at Lake Ruataniwha at the weekend. Photo supplied.
Hamish Bond has won a world title and competed at the Olympics, but he finally put his stamp on the New Zealand domestic scene by winning four red coats at last week's national championships.

Bond (23) was the key oarsman in the Southern Regional Performance Centre crews that dominated the regatta.

Bond won four premier men's titles at Lake Ruataniwha and has now won eight red coats.

He won the coxless pair (6min 34.6sec), coxless four (6min 13.90sec), quadruple sculls (6min 08.07sec) and the eight (5min 33.13sec).

All these times were within 9% of the world record.

The closest was in the pair, which produced a time that was 94.8% of the world record (6min 14sec), and the eight, (96.1%).

"I thought two or three red coats would be a pretty good return," Bond said.

"When we won all our races in the heats I reassessed things and knew that we had a good chance of taking home everything."

"The eight was the only race I had not won before. It was really good to win that one. We knew we could row well and we just had to put it together on the day."

This was the second national championships at which Bond has remained unbeaten in the premier events.

Bond and Southern RPC team-mate Matthew Trott were the only rowers at the regatta to win four premier men's titles.

Trott has now won 13 red coats.

Bond's mentor and first coach, Fred Strachan, was pleased by the result.

"Hamish has shown that he is in top condition physically and is rowing and sculling with a lot more confidence," coach Strachan said.

"Hamish has moved into the top spot and is the No 1 rower in New Zealand."

Strachan wants Bond to concentrate on the pair internationally and have a crack at the Henley Regatta.

"It is a prestige race and it would be tremendous if he won the pair and let the up-and-coming guys get there on their own bat," he said.

Bond agrees with Strachan and would like to row in the pair with Eric Murray at this year's world championships in Poland.

"We have been rowing together since Christmas and have been going well.

"I'm pretty confident that we can go well internationally. It is unknown territory for us and it will probably take a couple of years to develop our combination.

"If we stayed in the four we would have to bring in a couple of new guys, so that would also take time."

Former world champions and Olympic medallists George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle have set the standard in the pair and have set down training targets.

"If we match or beat those times we know that we will be competitive overseas," Bond said.

"Post Olympic year is the time when new crews spring up and that is what we will try to do."

Bond just wants to concentrate on the next 12 months.

"It would be great to do well on home turf at the 2010 world championships at Lake Karapiro.

"London is a long time away. I prefer to concentrate on the small steps and let the big picture take care of itself."

He was not able to put his finger on the reasons for his rapid elevation in the sport over the past two years.

He is now coached by Dick Tonks and this summer is training harder than he has ever done before.

"I guess that comes through at the end of the day. I'm now reaping the fruits of all that hard work," Bond said.

He is definitely a hard task-master, and you can see why the Evers-Swindell twins have been successful," Bond said.

"He knows what your limits are better than you do."

Bond is in the Rowing New Zealand elite squad and is obliged to train at Lake Karapiro with the squad.

"Although I don't get to Dunedin that often, I try to represent the North End club and Otago rowing.

"Everyone knows that is where I'm from and where I started rowing and I'm trying to build publicity for the sport in the region to get more people competing."

 

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