Brook Robertson

Brook Robertson started rowing at Nelson College for Boys in 2007 at the age of 13. He was predominantly a sculler until a switch to Marlborough Boys’ College in 2012 saw him win the Springbok Shield (Boy’s Coxed Four) at the Aon Maadi Regatta.

Brook joined Central Rowing Performance Centre at the end of 2012 and this helped him to gain selection for his first New Zealand team in 2013, when he joined a newly formed U23 Men’s Eight crew that took Gold at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Linz, Austria – a first for New Zealand. The crew returned unchanged the following year in 2014 to claim Bronze at World Rowing Cup I as U23s, win back-to-back Golds at the U23 World Rowing Championship, along with a competitive showing at the Elite World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, claiming 5th in the A-Final.

The young Men’s Eight had Rio in their sights and, after just one crew change, picked up Bronze at World Rowing Cup III in 2015, before taking a close 4th place at the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. This qualified the boat for the 2016 Olympic Games where Brook sat in 7-seat, with the crew finishing 6th place at the Rio Olympics. You can say that Brook has a lot of experience in the Elite Men’s Eight, picking up some World Rowing Cup medals along the way in 2016 and 2017 and consistently having some pretty outstanding performances on the world-stage.

In 2018, Brook won his first Elite National Title at the National Championship, winning Gold in the Men’s Premier Quad for Central RPC - where he teamed up with Robbie Manson, Chris Harris and Joe Wright. Brook was named in the Elite Men’s Eight for another season in 2018, competing at World Rowing Cup II, II and at the World Rowing Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Unfortunately, this year the crew came back with no silverware from overseas.

However, 2019 saw Brook and the Elite Men’s Eight crew pick up a Bronze medal at World Rowing Cup III, after making history with the Eight and winning the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta for the first time ever. The Men’s Eight went on to finish in 6th place at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in a stacked field.

At the Tokyo Olympics Brook teamed up with Stephen Jones in the Men's Pair where they placed 6th in the B final. They were both also a very crucial part of the Men’s Eight success at the Olympics which won Gold.

Brook transitioned to sculling in 2022, where he raced in the Men’s Quad at the Henley Royal Regatta in the Queen Mother Challenge Cup, and at World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, Poland. Brook has shown throughout the years that he can perform in both sculling and sweeping disciplines, making him an asset to the crew boats.

On the 13th of December, 2022, was the birth of Brook's newborn son - Rupert Sydney Robertson. Brook is managing to balance life now with fiancé Lucy Spoors (Olympic Silver Medalist) with the responsibilities of parenthood and rowing, to reach their goal of competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Brook has now been named in the 2023 Men’s Sweep Squad, coached by Mike Rodger. What is very impressive is that Brook was able to win another National Title at the 2023 NZ Rowing Championship, in the Men’s Premiere Pair with partner - Matt MacDonald. Doing this all while having a newborn to co-parent, which as parents know - the first couple months of the baby trying to sleep can be difficult!

Off the water, apart from raising his newborn baby ‘Ru’ - Brook is working towards being a mortgage broker, while also wanting to pursue coaching after he retires from international rowing.