Mahé Drysdale’s emotional farewell ‘MY FAMILY JOY & OLYMPIC HEARTACHE’

Throughout his long career, Kiwi rowing legend Mahé Drysdale has never had what you’d call an easy run of it. There was the time he rowed to a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics while battling a severe stomach virus, collapsing at the finish line and having to be carried to the medal ceremony.

Or the time in 2005 when he was hit by a water-skier during a training run and broke two vertebrae – but still won the World Championships that year. Or the time when he was hit by a car while out on his bike a few months before the London Games, where he won his first of two Olympic gold medals.

He’s one of New Zealand’s favourite sons, the epitome of the humble Kiwi