Quick Facts
Biography
Robert "Rob" Norman Waddell, ONZM (born 7 January 1975) is a New Zealand rower, and yachtsman. He holds the fastest 2000 metre indoor rowing machine time in the world, clocking a time of 5 mins 36.6 secs (5:36.6). He also held the record for 5000 m on the rowing machine with a time of 14:58. This made him the first person to go below 15 min for this distance. He holds a black belt in judo. He played rugby union for Waikato.
Personal life
Waddell was born in 1975 in Te Kuiti. In 1998, he married fellow rower Sonia Scown, the daughter of a former All Black, Alistair Scown.
2003 Team New Zealand America's Cup defence
Rob Waddell switched to sailing for Team New Zealand's 2003 America's Cup defence. He trained as a grinder.
2007 America's Cup
He participated again in the 2007 America's Cup. Following this Waddell returned to rowing representing New Zealand in the double sculls at the Beijing Olympics.
2008 Olympics
In 2008 he made a comeback to rowing after leaving the sport after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, in pursuit of a sailing career as a grinder. With 8 years out of the sport he broke the 2000 m and 5000 m world records on the rowing machine and defeated Mahé Drysdale, the world champion in the single sculls, who was also a New Zealander. As it was an Olympic year and only one crew can be sent to the Olympics in each boat class the stage was set for a battle to see who would fill the Olympic single sculls spot. Despite Waddell getting the better of Drysdale in the domestic regattas the selectors created a three-race trial to decide who would go. With the wins for each sculler tied at 1–1 it came down to a final race which Drysdale won.
Waddell was then selected into the double sculls with the young Nathan Cohen, world champion at the 2006 World University Games in single sculls, in early 2008. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Shunyi, Beijing in August 2008, the two finished fourth in the double sculls final.
Waddell retired from rowing to take up sailing again. Cohen went on to win the gold medal in double sculls at the next Olympic Games in 2012, with rowing partner Joseph Sullivan as Waddell's replacement.
2013 Team New Zealand America's Cup challenge
In the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup, which Team New Zealand won over Prada Luna Rossa, Waddell was a key grinder and member of the team that eventually went on to challenge Team Oracle USA for the 2013 America's Cup.
Medal tally
- Olympic medals: 1 gold
- World Championship medals: 2 gold
Olympic Games – rowing
- 2008 – 4th, double sculls
- 2000 – Gold, single sculls
- 1996 – 7th, single sculls
World Championships – rowing
- 1999 – Gold, single sculls
- 1998 – Gold, single sculls
- 1997 – 8th, single sculls
- 1995 – 10th, coxless four (4-)
- 1994 – 5th coxed pair (2+)
- 1994 – 13th coxless pair (2-)