Mahé Drysdale named as Thomas Keller award winner
Mahé Drysdale has been named the winner of rowing’s most prestigious award, the Thomas Keller Medal. This comes following a career that spanned two Olympic Gold medals in the Men’s Single Sculls (London 2012, Rio 2016) and a Bronze medal in 2008 where he was New Zealand team captain and flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.
Mahé also holds eight World Championships medals in this boat class, five of which are gold, and he is also a Henley Royal Regatta winner.
Several of Mahé's Olympic medals have been earnt in dramatic circumstances. In Rio the race went to a photo finish, with him beating Croatia's Damir Martin by just seven one-thousandths of a second. In Beijing Mahē was struck by a gastro bug and was vomiting several hours before the final. Upon finishing he vomited and fainted and was taken to the medical tent. He had to be carried to the medal ceremony.
Mahē represented New Zealand at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in the coxless four, with the crew placing 5th. Alongside his Olympic medals he has won a staggering five world titles. In 2009 Mahē was named the International Rowing Federation's male Rower of the Year. He won the Halberg Supreme Award in 2006 and was Sportsman of the Year in 2006, 07, 09 and 12. Mahē was awarded the Lonsdale Cup by the New Zealand Olympic Committee in 2009. In 2009 Mahē was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours.
A true legend of the sport, Mahé who retired from elite rowing in 2021 competed earlier this year in the “Grand Finale” race at the 2022 World Rowing Championships to honour his friend and long-time competitor Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic.