Mahe Drysdale

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Medal record
Mahe Drysdale
Men's Rowing
Competitor for New Zealand
World Championships
Gold	2005	Single Sculls
Gold	2006	Single Sculls
Gold	2007	Single Sculls

Mahe Drysdale (born November 19, 1978) is a New Zealand rower and three time World Champion single sculler.

Drysdale began rowing at university at the age of 18. He gave up rowing to concentrate on his studies, but began rowing again after watching fellow New Zealander Rob Waddell win gold at the 2000 Olympic Games.^[1]

Drysdale began competing at the World Cup level in 2002, rowing in the New Zealand coxless four. After the 2004 Olympic Games, in which his New Zealand crew finished fifth in the final, Drysdale switched to the single scull, winning the 2005 World Championships at Gifu, Japan, despite having broken two vertebrae in a crash with a water skier earlier in the year.^[2]

He successfully defended his title in 2006 at Dorney Lake, Eton, England and again in 2007 at Munich, Germany.

Drysdale is a member of the West End Rowing Club in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand and Tideway Scullers, London.

In late 2007, Rob Waddell, a double world champion and Olympic gold medalist, came out of retirement to challenge Drysdale for New Zealand's only single scull spot in the 2008 Summer Olympics. As of February 2008, Waddell led Drysdale by three wins to one in head to head competition. Drysdale complained frequently about Waddell's challenge because he believed it adversely affects his training. On March 5, Drysdale beat Rob Waddell in the final of 3 qualifying races.^[3] Drysdale was officially selected as New Zealand's Olympic heavyweight sculler on March 7, 2008.