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Fresh from helping Team New Zealand sail to victory off Auckland, Rob Waddell has little time to catch breath as he prepares to defend his national single sculls title.
The national rowing championships run from Tuesday to Saturday at Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel in the central South Island where Waddell is set for another intriguing head-to-head clash with Mahe Drysdale.
Last March, the pair fought out a high-profile battle for the single sculls berth at the Beijing Olympics, with Drysdale coming out on top after Waddell's heart condition resurfaced.
Waddell went on to row in the double sculls at Beijing with Nathan Cohen, making the final but missing out on a medal.
The former Olympic champion admitted that his build-up to the national championships had been far from ideal, with his focus over the past month having been on sailing.
Waddell was on board again as grinder yesterday as Team NZ claimed the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series final by completing an emphatic 3-1 win over America's Cup holders Alinghi, of Switzerland.
However, a post-Olympic year was not as intense as an Olympic one and he was confident he had done enough to be competitive over the coming week.
"I had a good three-month break after Beijing where I basically did nothing and hopped into a boat just after Christmas," he said.
"It hasn't been a heap of time, but I'll go down and line up. I've been doing some training and I'm confident I've done enough to put on a good show."
Waddell, 34, said he also intended to row in the trials the following week to try to make this year's world championships.
He was continuing his comeback in the sport, which began in late 2007, seven years after he won the Olympic single sculls gold in Sydney, because there was a lot more he wanted to achieve.
"I think my best is still to come," he said.
"I look back on last year with a bit of frustration where things didn't quite go my way a few times."
While the 2012 Olympics, as well as another America's Cup campaign with Team NZ, were on his mind, Waddell was unsure how his sporting future would pan out beyond the next few months.
He didn't want to commit to anything long term at present because he didn't know how the various bits of the jigsaw would join up.
"I want to go the London Olympics, but it's just what other pieces of the puzzle go into it before then and I have to say if that's the No 1 goal."
Among the uncertainties was when the next multi-challenger America's Cup would be held.
The Auld Mug has been in limbo since the 2007 regatta in Valencia while holders Alinghi and American syndicate Oracle Racing battle it out in court over the rules.
"I would love to win the America's Cup for New Zealand with Team NZ," said Waddell, who sailed with the syndicate in the past two cup competitions.
"It's a great bunch of guys. We enjoy sailing together and the America's Cup is something we would love to bring back to New Zealand."
- NZPA
