WORDS BENEDICT TUFNELL // PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE McARTHUR + JULIETTE DRYSDALE / ROWING NEW ZEALAND ROBBIE MANSON
It’s easy to forget that it’s only been in the last two seasons that Robbie Manson has catapulted himself to the forefront of international rowing. Manson may have raced solidly for New Zealand since 2010 – Tokyo will in fact be his third Olympics – but it wasn’t until 2017 in Poland that he caught the world’s attention, setting a blistering new world best time of 06:30.740 in his debut singles race. Proving this was no beginner’s luck, he followed it with a convincing win in Lucerne three weeks later.