Rowing: NZ pair primed to head off opposition

Eric Murray and Hamish Bond. Photo / Getty Images

Injuries, a new training programme and the threat of an increasingly fired-up British opposition have kept Hamish Bond and Eric Murray on edge ahead of the world rowing championships at Lake Karapiro which begin on Sunday.

The high-performing coxless pair have proven unbeatable over the past two years, but are taking nothing for granted as they focus on defending their world title.

They picked up wins in all three World Cup rounds in Europe and at the prestigious Henley regatta.

But it hasn't all been smooth waters for the talented duo, who had approached their European campaign a little hazy on exactly where they stood.

A first-up World Cup win at Bled in Slovenia provided a pretty good indication, Murray said, but there was little time to luxuriate in the victory.

"We thought that was a good starting point, and then Hamish got injured again," he said.

"So we were thinking, we can't keep on doing what we're doing and keep getting injured. The workload was just a little too much for what we could handle."

The pair and coach Dick Tonks decided it was time to train smart. Their previous training schedule, centred around two 20km rows a day and a weights programme, came under review.

"Lately, we've been doing one good row in the morning, then we do land-based training in the afternoon to mix it up," Bond said.

"We go on the rowing machine, we do endurance weights where we're doing reps of 50-60, 20 minutes of weights on end. The weights are lighter, but there's lots of it to get our heart rate up."

Bond and Murray have been pleased to find their energy output and work rate has not dropped with the change in training.

The new regime initially took time to settle, and the pair got home by a scant metre to take the second World Cup regatta in Munich. But wins at the Henley regatta in June and the final World Cup event in Lucerne proved the duo were back on the right track.

Bond's predilection for acquiring injuries is legendary, the most recent surfacing earlier this year when a heavy training load fractured his top two ribs, weakened from a bike crash three years ago.

"My collar bone's not attached to my shoulder blade any more - it just sort of floats around," he says. "With that lack of support there, I compensate with the muscles, which compresses and loads up other areas."

Murray reels off the most common rowing injuries - tendonitis in the wrist, a repetitive strain injury from twisting the oar; back problems, from the insistent strain; and stress fractures, usually rib-related. Bond has had four rib stress fractures over the years.

The main opposition looks set to come from Britain's Andy Triggs-Hodge and Pete Reed. It counts for nothing that Bond and Murray have won the past 10 times the rivals have clashed.

"They're always going to improve, but we've won 10 races in a row," Bond said. "Obviously they've got to wonder whether they can win, but it's not going to stop them training. It's only going to spur them on - the type of characters they are, Olympic gold medallists, they're not going to throw in the towel."

- NZPA