Rowing champion Eric Murray retires

Eric Murray of New Zealand. Photo / Getty

Two-time Olympic champion Eric Murray has retired from rowing.

The 34-year-old Murray revealed to Woman's Day that his unbeatable coxless pair combination with Hamish Bond will end after 69 unbeaten races and two gold medals.

No pair completed more consecutive wins in rowing's history than Murray and Bond, with the duo overcoming every conceivable doubt in every heat, semifinal and final on every visit to a race course.

Murray said their dominance eventually wore them down.

"I always said as long as my mind, my body and my heart were in it, then I could do this for as long as I like. My mind's been pretty good, my body's been pretty good, but it was my heart that was on the fence. So, it's time to go," Murray told Woman's Day.

"[Hamish and I] made a legacy in the sport and we got to the point where we were always winning, but it was playing on our minds and wearing us down. When we won a race, it was like, job done. We didn't get that elation anymore. Everyone expected us to win, so when we won, we just met the expectation."

Bond and Murray also won four straight world championships, and will go down in New Zealand sporting folklore as "the Kiwi pair", having gone eight seasons unbeaten across two Olympic cycles.

In September, Murray told the Herald he was considering a move to the eight, noting that he and Bond had accomplished everything possible in the pair.

"We'll see how the break goes. We've done everything in the pair. The only thing left to do in New Zealand rowing is the eight. It's about asking whether we feel we could make it go well, or would it be better without us?"

Bond is currently taking a break from rowing, having shifted his focus to cycling this year.

However, regardless of whether Bond returns to the sport, Murray's retirement means that the era one of rowing's greatest ever crews has come to a close.