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- Rowing New Zealand is the sports governing body for rowing in New Zealand. Its purpose is to provide leadership and support to enable an environment of success for the New Zealand rowing community. This includes secondary schools, clubs, masters, universities and high performance. Rowing New Zealand was founded as the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association on 16 March 1887. The New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association was formed by nine clubs in an effort to coordinate and regulate the sport of amateur rowing in New Zealand. Since the turn of the 21st century, Rowing New Zealand has had moderate success on the water, which has resulted in increased media interest in the sport of rowing and record participation at secondary school level. The aim is eventually to replicate the success of Great Britain and Australia on the water by the 2020 Olympics. This increase in the number of active rowers has been attributed in particular to Rob Waddell's gold medal victory at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. There have also been increases, particularly in the number of women rowers, since Georgina Evers-Swindell and Caroline Evers-Swindell won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The 2008 Olympic trials gained intense public and media interest as previous Olympic champion Rob Waddell challenged current world champion Mahé Drysdale for the sole men’s single sculls spot. In the final race, Waddell suffered a repeat of his atrial fibrillation condition, resulting in Drysdale claiming the victory and the sole 2008 Olympic single sculls spot. 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 Summer Olympics in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Shunyi, Beijing in August 2008, the two finished fourth in the double sculls final. Cohen won the gold medal in double sculls at the next Olympic Games in 2012, with rowing partner Joseph Sullivan. Cohen and Sullivan also won the World Championship in both 2010 and 2011. (en)
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