Rob Waddell
Robert ("Rob") Norman Waddell, nicknamed
V-12, (born
January 7,
1975 in
Te Kuiti) is a
New Zealand rower, yachtsman and
rugby player. In 1998, he married fellow rower
Sonia Scown.
Waddell won the single scull at the rowing
World Championships in
1998 and
1999, and the gold medal in the Single Sculls at the
2000 Summer Olympics. During his World Championship period, Waddell had several closely contested races with
Xeno Müller, the
1996 Summer Olympics champion. In the years leading up to the Olympics, Müller beat Waddell in 3 out of the 7 races they faced each other. At the Olympics, Waddell and Müller dramatically traded the lead over the last half of the course before Waddell finally pulled away to win the gold medal.
Waddell has one of the highest
VO2 max intake levels of any athlete ever tested. He holds the second fastest 2km
indoor rowing ergo time in the world.
Waddell started rowing at
King's College,
Auckland. He later joined
Team New Zealand as a grinder for the
America's Cup 2003.
*
Olympic Medals: 1 Gold
*
World Championship Medals: 2 Gold
Olympic Games
*
2000 - Gold, Single Sculls
*
1996 - 7th, Single Sculls
World Championships
*
1999 - Gold, Single Sculls
*
1998 - Gold, Single Sculls
*
1997 - 8th, Single Sculls
*
1995 - 10th, Straight Four (4-)
*
1994 - 5th, Pair With (2+)
*
1994 - 13th, Straight Pair (2-)
*
FISA profile*
Short biography*
Profile on RowingOne
