Rowing: Aussie has Mahe's back

Mahe Drysdale is suffering from a degenerative back complaint. Photo / Christine Cornege

Mahe Drysdale has sought help from a three-time Olympic champion to deal with the degenerative back injury threatening his London 2012 gold medal dream.

Drew Ginn (36) took Olympic gold as part of the Australian coxless four dubbed the "Oarsome Foursome" in 1996 at Atlanta and backed up with further gold in the coxless pair in 2004 and 2008. He missed the Sydney Olympics because of a prolapsed disc in his back.

Drysdale suffered that same complaint last year and continues to be troubled by a resulting form of arthritis which sees the joints compact and rub against each other. That creates an inflammation of the bones in his back, causing it to lock up and making it painful to move.

"I went across to Melbourne to talk to Drew and I've been emailing him on how to combat it. He gave me a good insight into how I need to train and how he managed his back. It was helpful, especially coming from such a successful Olympian.

"I've since worked that into my programme with Dick [coach Dick Tonks]. He understands there aren't many options available. If he thrashes me, I won't be there next year.

"I used to do two long rows a day but I've since supplemented one of those, on Drew's advice, with plenty of cycling. I'm also doing a lot of kayaking and swimming - the rotation helps strengthen the muscles of my core and eases the pressure on my back. Since March, I've had just two days out of the boat [rowing skiff]."

The four-time world champion has been far from his best this season, losing his national single sculls crown to Nathan Cohen. He says the injury is only as bad as it is because he is involved in elite sport.

"When the injury hits, it locks up my back, making it painful to move. When you consider I'm doing 2000 back extensions on an average row, it makes it tough.

"The injury is degenerative but if I was a normal person, I wouldn't suffer it to the same degree. It's relatively mild at this stage anyway. It's what I've got to put myself through in my two-season plan to get through to the Olympics. There is only one race to win."

That is an indication that a fifth world championship might not be added to Drysdale's mantelpiece at season's end but there should be no problem qualifying the boat for London. He has only to finish in the top 11 at the world championships at Bled, Slovenia, in August.

"It'd still be nice to get a good result to give me confidence to know I'm on track," he says. "I'm not 100 per cent but I'm a lot more comfortable. However, it takes just one poor session to instigate a series of frustrating days or weeks out of the boat.

"I find the most important thing is the recovery. I like to get my back right by getting good posture and allowing the muscles to free up because they build up so much tension over those big rows."

Drysdale is almost certain to take the Olympic spot early next year. There is unlikely to be a repeat of the drama when Rob Waddell challenged him ahead of Beijing in one of the greatest public spectacles rowing has produced on New Zealand waters.

Waddell is understood to be contracted to Team New Zealand's America's Cup squad.

Despite Cohen's national championship win, he is also an unlikely challenger, given he and Joseph Sullivan are the incumbent men's double world champions and a gold medal prospect in their own right.

Meanwhile, Beijing bronze medallist Nathan Twaddle has taken up a position as an athlete life adviser with the New Zealand Academy of Sport after retiring early this year.

Twaddle's new role looks at New Zealand's high performance athletes and key Olympic medal prospects. His job is to take some of the stress out of their day-to-day lives.