Mahe Drysdale

Mahé Drysdale began rowing for Auckland University out of West End Rowing Club in 1996 at the age of 18.

He first represented New Zealand in 2002 in the elite men’s coxless four. After competing at his first Olympic Games in Athens 2004 he moved to the single sculls, in which he carved out a career that has spanned three Olympic cycles. Highlights include bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics followed by back-to-back Olympic gold medals in London 2012 and Rio 2016. Mahé has won multiple World Rowing Cup and World Rowing Championship medals of every colour, including five World Rowing Championship single sculls titles, and previously held the world’s best time from his 2009 World Rowing Championship win in Poznan, Poland. In 2018 he rowed in his first crew boat since the Athens Olympics, helping a young men’s quad take home a close 4th from the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

In 2019 he joined fellow Olympic champion Hamish Bond in the men’s eight to lead a men’s sweep squad at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Mahé and the crew had good success at World Rowing Cup III where they earned a bronze medal, and they won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley. Although this was Mahe’s 7th Henley crown, it was the first time that New Zealand had won the prestigious eights race. The men’s eight finished 6th at the World Rowing Championships, just missing out on Olympic qualification.

Mahé and his wife Juliette are the proud parents of three children.