Robbie Manson during rowing training. Photo: Steve McArthur / www.photosport.nz
The fastest person ever in a single scull can leave the sport a happy man.
Robbie Manson finished sixth in the men's double scull in Paris this week in what could be his last event representing New Zealand.
However, it has not always been an enjoyable experience for the 34-year-old.
He competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics but decided to retire in 2020, admitting that he had put a lot of pressure on himself.
Read more:
He tried a number of other events, but after racing some masters and club events decided to give the elite side of it another go.
In 2023, he was selected for a World Cup regatta.
He teamed up with Jordan Parry in the double sculls and this week put in a performance that left him satisfied.
"[I'm] incredibly proud to have made the final after a long time for both of us trying," Manson told RNZ.
"From where we've come from, we've had a lot of fun along the way doing it, it's cool."
Robbie Manson (bow) and Jordan Parry (stroke) at the Paris Games. Photo: Steve McArthur / www.photosport.nz
Manson raced the quad in London and the double in Rio before giving the single a go.
He set the world's best time in 2017 and that mark of 6:30.74 still stands.
Manson won a gold medal at the under-23 World Championships, but his only success at the elite level was a bronze medal in the double sculls at the 2015 World Championships
"I never thought I'd come back to rowing, I was done with it," he said.
"We're both battlers, we've both taken a lot of knocks.
"To even qualify for the Olympics I think was an achievement for me this time around and to come back and make the final, which is the best result I've ever had at the Olympics, I'm incredible proud of that to see where I've come from."
His crewmate Parry also had a different experience in Paris.
Parry was selected in the single for Tokyo, taking the seat that Mahé Drysdale had held for three Olympics.
He finished 13th, describing his performance as "the highest of high external expectations and the greatest of great failures from my eyes".
He told RNZ that being able to walk away from an Olympic Games with a smile on his face felt foreign.
"I felt like a fraud in Tokyo and to be here with Robbie, the fastest man in the world in the single, is a privilege for me.
"I can tick off that you can enjoy it along the way rather than having lots of pressure."
