Game of Thrones: Olympic Champions Drysdale, Bond, and Murray Sparring in Single



This weekend marked the second showdown between 2012 Olympic champions Mahé Drysdale, Eric Murray, and Hamish Bond in the men's single, and once again Hamish Bond emerged victorious. The finish order this time saw Bond cross first ahead of Drysdale, with Robbie Manson edging Murray into fourth place. While Drysdale took some time following the Games in London to make his decision regarding the long road to Rio, Bond and Murray were back at it, and as fast as ever (or faster, even) throughout the 2013 season. And, that desire to perform to the best of their abilities regardless of the race or time of year continues to produce results for the Kiwi Pair.



Having set a new world record apiece on the erg in December (Bond broke the world record for a 60 minute piece at an average heart rate of 171), Bond and Murray have been 'keeping it fresh' on the water, training and racing in singles, as well as in the double, rather than spending much of their time in the pair. Also in December, Bond defeated Drysdale in the single, with Eric Murray finishing in third place (see video below).



Given all of the above, as well as the Kiwi Pair's unprecedented streak of consecutive wins at the international level (the tally now stands at 16, and counting), it's impossible not to consider the following question: is Hamish Bond the best rower in the world right now?

What do the Kiwi Pair have to say about all this? Find out in the upcoming issue of ROWING Magazine.

-RR

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