NZ rowing squad largest in Olympic history

A men's eight and men's lightweight four will chase Olympic selection at the last chance regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May in the hope of adding to what is already the largest Olympic rowing squad in New Zealand history. The team already numbers 26, the biggest in rowing history, and includes nine current or former world champions. Heading the team is five-times world champion single sculler Mahe Drysdale. It will be Drysdale's third Olympics but gold has eluded him - he won bronze in Beijing despite being ill during the week of the regatta. Three-time men's pair world champions Hamish Bond and Eric Murray have also been confirmed, along with two-time women's pairs world champions Juliette Haigh and Rebecca Scown, two-time men's double sculls world champions Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan and 2009 world champions Storm Uru and Peter Taylor in the men's lightweight double sculls. There are high expectations rowing will contribute a large proportion of New Zealand's medals at London. The New Zealand Olympic Committee have targeted at least 10 medals from this year's Games to surpass 100 medals in new Zealand's Olympic history. "The team named today contains no fewer than nine world champions and multiple medal winning elite, U23 and junior world championship rowers," NZOC secretary general and selector Kereyn Smith said. "Rowing is already a very successful Olympic sport for New Zealand and the outstanding team named for London will cement rowing's place in Olympic history." New Zealand won gold in the men's eight in Munich in 1972 but have been conspicuously absent from the blue riband event in recent years. The crew of Richard Harrison, Hamish Burson, Tobias Wehr-Candler, Adam Tripp, Ian Seymour, Ben Hammond, Fergus Fauvel, David Eade and cox Ivan Pavich will need to win the qualifying regatta to win selection for London. The lightweight four of three-time world lightweight sculling champion Duncan Grant, double under 23 world champion Graham Oberlin-Brown, world silver medallist James Lassche and Curtis Rapley will need to finish in the top two in Lucerne to book their ticket. Emma Twigg - world silver medallist in 2010 and bronze medallist in 2011 - is selected for the women's single sculls. Fi Paterson and Anna Reymer, bronze medallists in 2011, will remain in the promising women's double sculls, the boat in which New Zealand secured gold in Beijing four years ago with the Evers-Swindell twins. There is a change in the women's lightweight double sculls from the 2011 crew which qualified for London. Julia Edward replaces Lucy Strack and will partner Louise Ayling. The women's quad retains the bronze medal-winning combination of 2011 with Eve Macfarlane, Fiona Bourke, Louise Trappitt and Sarah Gray. There are new lineups for the two other qualified boats - the men's four and the men's quad. The new-look men's four will be will be made up of Sean O'Neill, Chris Harris, Jade Uru and Tyson Williams and the men's quadruple sculls will be crewed by Robbie Manson, Matthew Trott, John Storey and new recruit Michael Arms. Rowing has won 16 Olympic medals since Darcy Hadfield took bronze at the Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920 and sits equal with sailing as New Zealand's second-most medalled sport behind Athletics (20 medals).