DORNEY, England, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Three New Zealand rowers
brought two Olympic titles to their South Pacific nation within
the space of 40 minutes on Friday on a golden day for the Kiwis.
Victory to Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, disparate characters
with a single aim, in the men's pair was followed by a win to
Mahe Drysdale in the men's single sculls, one of the toughest
races in the Olympic regatta.
It was the best hour for a New Zealand Olympic team since
Peter Snell and Murray Halberg won gold medals on the track in
the space of 60 minutes at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Murray, an extrovert with the facial hair of a 1970s rock
star, and the softly spoken Bond, have been unbeaten for three
years and set a world best in the semi-finals.
France tried to upset their rhythm by setting off fast but
the New Zealanders remained unperturbed, pulling away to win by
two lengths without appearing to exert themselves unduly.
Afterwards the pair were asked if they saw any resemblances
between themselves and the national All Blacks rugby side, who
won their first World Cup for 24 years in 2011 at the expense of
the French.
"Obviously the All Blacks are the pinnacle of sport in New
Zealand," Bond replied. "The pressure was my biggest fear, not
being able to deliver on what I knew I was capable of, it was a
lot of effort and a lot of training.
"Somebody did the stats, it was like 17,000 strokes for
every stroke in the final, which is quite ludicrous."
Asked how he would celebrate, Murray said: "We will take a
night to celebrate, I think we deserve it. We have put a lot of
effort into it.
"It's one thing to say you are going to be an Olympic
champion, it's another to become one. And to become (one) is
just amazing."
Drysdale, 33, whose first name is not Polynesian as
generally assumed but the name of an island in the Seychelles
where his parents had been on holiday, had been helped to the
podium to receive his bronze medal in Beijing four years ago
after vomiting violently.
Because of a back problem he trains half the time on a bike
and half in a boat and last June he was knocked off his cycle by
a car before the Munich World Cup regatta.
The five-times world champion put all his troubles behind
him on Friday as clouds and light showers were succeeded by
bright sunshine to hold off a spirited challenge by
second-placed Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic.
"I had a dream about 12 years ago that I wanted to be an
Olympic champion and it's been a tough road," said Drysdale, who
was born in Melbourne and spent his early life in England.
"It's taken me three Olympics to get there but to me it's
like you can achieve your dreams if you go out there and work
your butt off.
"That's really where that gold medal came from, it's hard
work. One of the reasons it was tough this morning was obviously
that Beijing for the last few days has been at the back of my
mind.
"I failed there, if I had of won in Beijing it would have
been a lot easier. That was tough, you only get one or two
opportunities in your life."
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)