Kiwi rowing legend Hamish Bond is hanging up his oars, announcing his retirement from the sport to lower the curtain on one of the greatest careers in NZ sporting history.
The three-time Olympic champion leaves rowing as one of New Zealand's most decorated athletes and Olympians, occupying a space in the pantheon of Kiwi sports people.
Bond won gold in rowing coxless pair with crewmate Eric Murray at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, before leading the men’s eight crew to gold at Tokyo 2020.
The Dunedin native is the first male New Zealander to win three successive Olympic gold medals and is also an eight-time world champion.
The 35-year-old says he’s known for a while that it was the right time for him to step away from the sport.
"It does feel strange saying that I’m retiring but I feel very fortunate to be walking away while at the top of the sport," said Bond.
"Rowing for the bulk of my career has defined me as a person, I now have my family and other priorities and it feels like the right move to make."
Bond admits he considered retiring before the Tokyo Games, only for wife Lizzie to convince him to push through the frustrations caused by the pandemic to have one final crack.
The result was New Zealand's first men's eight gold since 1972.
"The last few years has been challenging for everyone, not just athletes, and there were times when I seriously considered calling it a day," says Bond.
"It was taking more and more mental discipline to keep going and I could feel my hunger to punish myself in training waning.
"It was Lizzie who gave me a kick and said 'no, you're not ending things like this' and I really needed that to keep going and finish my sporting career in the right way."
Bond and his cohort Murray won New Zealand's Supreme Halberg award twice and were named Decade Champions in 2021.
New Zealand Olympic committee chief executive Kereyn Smith says Bond has been a role model to aspiring athletes across the country.
"Hamish has been a leader on and off the water," says Smith. "He's been an inspiration to young athletes all around the country and he's embodied the values of the New Zealand Team.
"His drive and determination have been second to none. Hamish is a true Olympic great and his legacy and place in New Zealand's sporting history is well and truly entrenched. We wish him all the best for his next chapter."
Bond says his immediate focus is on speading quality time with family, before he considers his next move.
In August, Bond and his wife Lizzie welcomed their third child in son Finlay, joining daughters Imogen and Phoebe.
"My main focus is family and being a parent for the next while and just working out my next step," he insists.
"I'm just going to take my time and enjoy the summer with my family."
