Yachting: Golden rower Rob eyes Cup silver

BY SUZANNE McFADDEN

Top rower Rob Waddell is trying out for Team New Zealand.

The Olympic gold medallist is considering laying down his oars for a while and grabbing the handles on an America's Cup boat.

Waddell spent four days sailing on board the Black Magic boats with the new Team NZ crew before Christmas.

Team NZ are trying out grinding candidates for the 2003 Cup and Waddell would have to earn his spot in the team, gold medal or not.

"My long term goal is still Athens [the 2004 Olympics]. But now I'm looking at what could help that, what could fit in with it," Waddell said yesterday.

After winning gold in Sydney in the single scull, Waddell said he wanted to try out different codes before the next Olympics. His first attempt was multisport.

"I did the Motu Challenge in Gisborne and one was enough to put me off," he laughed.

So he tried grinding on a cup yacht - a job he had never attempted before - and loved it.

"The whole thing is new to me - it was so interesting, like a whole new language," said Waddell, who already speaks fluent Japanese.

"I did a bit of sailing early on, like most Kiwi kids in friend's boats or at camp.

"They [Team NZ] are a great bunch of guys. It blew me away how everyone was so determined."

Waddell, who took a break from rowing after the games, starts his first real job in March, in management solutions for Deloitte.

"It's just nice doing different things - it's the spice of life. I'm sure I would end up taking something back to my boat from it all," he said.

Team NZ said no decision had been made on the grinding position - the last vacant spot on the sailing crew.

But they confirmed the job would not necessarily go to an experienced yachtsman, and they were looking at the possibility of training an elite athlete for the physically demanding job.

In their last America's Cup campaign, Team NZ took on top multisport athlete Jonathan Macbeth.

Herald Online feature: America's Cup