Thomas James Murray (born 5 April 1994) is a New Zealand rower. Born and raised in Blenheim, he is a member of New Zealand's national rowing team and has competed in the eight and in the coxless pair. In the smaller boat, he has medalled in two World Rowing Championships; bronze in 2017 and silver in 2019. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he competed with the eight and won gold in the same boat class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Murray has won four consecutive premier national titles in the coxless pair. He has been world champion in age group rowing events three times.
Murray was born in 1994 in Blenheim. He received his education at Marlborough Boys' College, where he took up rowing in 2010 to keep himself fit for rugby union. Outside of rowing, he has an interest in archery and is a fan of Star Wars.[2][3]
While Murray was at Marlborough Boys' College, he took up rowing for the school and joined the Blenheim Rowing Club.[3] He first participated in the New Zealand Rowing Championships in February 2011 when they were held at Lake Ruataniwha. He competed in three boat classes and with the club coxed four and the U19 coxed four, he won gold.[4]
At the February 2012 New Zealand rowing championships at Lake Karapiro, he competed in two club and two senior men's boat classes. In the club coxed four, he defended his title win. In the club eight, he came fifth. The same eight competed in the senior men's category where they again came fifth. The coxed four team also competed in the senior men's category, where they came third – his first medal in a senior men's boat class.[5] Murray was selected for the New Zealand junior rowing team based on those results and he first rowed internationally at the 2012 World Rowing Junior Championships, which were held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in conjunction with the 2012 World Rowing Championships. The coxed four, which included Michael Brake and coxswain Sam Bosworth won gold at that regatta.[6][7] In the 128-year history of the Blenheim Rowing Club, this was the first time that one of their members won a world championship title and Murray arrived home in Blenheim to a rousing reception.[8]
At the February 2013 New Zealand rowing championships, Murray competed in four boat classes, including his first appearance in the premier class.[lower-alpha 1] He placed fourth with the premier eight. With the U22 eight, he won bronze. With U20 teams, he won gold with a coxless pair and a coxless four.[10] With the March 2013 World Rowing Cup I being held in Sydney, he was invited to join the senior men's eight; they came fourth, narrowly beaten by Australia I for bronze.[6] He then went to the July 2013 World Rowing U23 Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, where the U23 eight team won gold.[6] He was one of the finalists for the Emerging Talent category of the 2014 Halberg Awards, which covered the 2013 calendar year.[11]
At the February 2014 New Zealand rowing championships, which started five days after the Halberg Awards, he competed in four boat classes. In the U22, he won bronze with the eight and came fourth in the coxless pair. In the premier class, he won bronze with the coxless four and silver with the eight.[12] The March 2014 World Rowing Cup I was again held in Sydney, and Murray won two medals: silver in the coxless pair alongside Alex Kennedy, and bronze with the eight. He then went to the July 2014 World Rowing Cup III that was contested on the Rotsee in Austria where the NZ eight came fifth. Later that month, he competed at the 2014 World Rowing U23 Championships in Varese, Italy, where he won gold with the U23 eight.[6]
At the February 2015 New Zealand rowing championships, Murray competed with two premier crews. He won silver in both the coxless pair (alongside James Hunter) and the eight.[13] He was called into the elite team for the year and went to the 2015 World Rowing Cups II and III with the eight, in Varese (Italy) and at the Swiss Rotsee, respectively. They came fourth in Italy and won bronze in Switzerland. At the 2015 World Rowing Championships, the men's eight was beaten for a bronze medal by the Netherlands by 0.13seconds.[6] This result qualified this boat class for the 2016 Rio Olympics.[3][14]
At the February 2016 New Zealand rowing championships, Murray won his first national title in the premier class. Competing in three boat classes, he won gold in the coxless pair with Hunter. In the coxless four, he came fifth, and in the eight, he won bronze.[15] Internationally, he remained a member of the New Zealand eight. In preparation for the Olympics, they travelled to the 2016 World Rowing Cup II on the Swiss Rotsee, they came fifth. At the World Rowing Cup III in Poznań, Poland, they won bronze.[6] The team came sixth at the Olympic competition in Rio de Janeiro.[16] The last time a New Zealand eight had even qualified for the Olympics had been at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 32 years prior.[3]
At the 2017 New Zealand rowing nationals at Lake Ruataniwha, he partnered with Hunter in the premier men's pair and they became national champions for the second year in a row.[17] Murray also competed at the nationals in the eight and won silver.[18] His international competitions were with Hunt in the coxless pair, having taken over this boat class after the double-Olympic gold medallist pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray had retired after the 2016 Olympics.[19] At the 2017 World Rowing Cup III at the Swiss Rotsee, ahead of the Croatian Sinković brothers Martin and Valent.[6] At the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida, they won a bronze medal behind an Italian pair and the Sinković brothers.[20]
At the 2018 New Zealand rowing nationals, he partnered with Phillip Wilson in the premier men's pair to retain his national championship title. With the premier eight, he won silver.[21] Hunter retired after the 2018 nationals[22] and Murray teamed up with Michael Brake for coxless pair instead. Both suffered broken bones in unrelated incidents within five days of one another (Murray broke a toe and Brake fell and broke a wrist) and whilst they travelled to 2018 World Rowing Cup II in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, they did not compete.[19][23] At the 2018 World Rowing Cup III at the Rotsee, they won gold. At the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, they came fifth.[6]
At the 2019 New Zealand rowing nationals, he competed in three premier boat classes. Partnered with Wilson, he retained his national title in the coxless pair. With the eight, he won bronze, and with the coxless four, he came fifth.[24] Continuing to row internationally with Brake, they won silver at World Rowing Cup II in Poznań and bronze at World Rowing Cup III in Rotterdam, Netherlands. At the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, they won silver, beaten by the Sinković brothers for gold.[6] This result qualified this boat class for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[25]
At the 2020 New Zealand rowing nationals, he competed in the coxless pair only and his winning streak came to an end. The title went instead to Hamish Bond, who had come out of retirement, who teamed up with James Lassche; Murray and Wilson won silver.[26][27] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no international rowing during 2020.[6]
At the 2021 New Zealand rowing nationals, Murray competed in single scull (5th place) and in coxless pair with Wilson (4th place).[28] In March 2021, Rowing New Zealand announced the elite team for the Olympic year and Murray was placed in the eight that had yet to qualify for the Games.[29] At the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta at the Rotsee in May 2021, the top two teams gained qualification (four teams competed) and the New Zealand eight won both the preliminary race and the final.[6][30] When New Zealand's Olympic team was announced in June 2021, Murray was confirmed to start with the eight.[31] At the Tokyo Olympics, the men's eight was beaten in their heat by the Netherlands and had to thus go to the repechage, which they won.[32] In the final, they sprinted past Germany and Great Britain to win the gold medal.[33]
National titles
National titles for senior rowers are known as Red Coats in New Zealand.[34] As of 2021, Murray has won four Red Coats.
Red Coats – New Zealand premier national titles
Coxless pair
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Notes
↑ Premier is the highest ability class and rowers can compete in this class once they have been accepted by one of the Regional Performance Centres (RPCs).[9]
Related Research Articles
James Bruce Tomkins, is an Australian rower, seven-time World Champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is Australia's most awarded oarsman, having made appearances at six Olympic games ; eleven World Championships ; four Rowing World Cups and eighteen state representative King's Cup appearances – the Australian blue riband men's VIII event,. Tomkins is one of only five Australian athletes and four rowers worldwide to compete at six Olympics. From 1990 to 1998 he was the stroke of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
Michael Scott McKay, OAM, known as Mike McKay, is an Australian rower, a four-time world champion, a four-time Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist. From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
Andrew Triggs Hodge is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2023.
David Marsden Rodger is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal.
Leslie James O'Connell is a retired New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Keith Charles Trask is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Hamish Bryon Bond is a retired New Zealand rower and former road cyclist. He is a three-time Olympic gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He won six consecutive World Rowing Championships gold medals in the coxless pair and set the current world best times in both the coxless and coxed pair. He made a successful transition from rowing to road cycling after the 2016 Summer Olympics focussing on the road time trial. He returned to rowing for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, winning a gold medal in the men's eight.
Eric Gordon Murray is a retired New Zealand rower and gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, as well as at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He won six consecutive World Rowing Championship gold medals in the coxless pair plus two other gold medals in the coxless four and coxed pair. In 2012 an 2014 he set two world best times in the coxless pair and coxed pair respectively, which as of 2021 still stand as the world's best in those boat classes.
Rebecca Scown is a professional rower from New Zealand. Together with Juliette Haigh, she won the bronze medal in the women's coxless pair at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Previously they had won gold in the women's pair at the World Rowing Cup regatta in Lucerne, 2010 and at the 2010 World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro and the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled. After winning a bronze medal with the New Zealand women's eight at the 2017 World Rowing Championships, she is having a break from rowing in the 2017/18 season.
Emma Kimberley Twigg is a New Zealand rower. A single sculler, she was the 2014 world champion and won gold in her fourth Olympics in Tokyo in July 2021. Previous Olympic appearances were in 2008, 2012, and 2016. She has retired from rowing twice, first for master-level studies in Europe in 2015 and then after the 2016 Olympics, disappointed at having narrowly missed an Olympic medal for the second time. After two years off the water, she started training again in 2018 and won silver at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Since her marriage in 2020, she has become an outspoken advocate for LGBT athletes. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Twigg won gold in the woman's single scull.
Polly Swann is a British rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. She is a former World and European champion in the women's coxless pairs, having won the 2013 World Rowing Championships at Chungju in Korea, and the 2014 European Rowing Championships at Belgrade, Serbia with her partner Helen Glover. At the 2016 Summer Olympics she won a silver medal in the women's eight.
Grace Elizabeth Prendergast is a former New Zealand sweep rower. She is a 15-time national champion in the premier category, an Olympic champion, a five-time world champion and the current (2022) world champion in the coxless pair. She grew up in Christchurch, where she started rowing for the Avon Rowing Club in 2007. She competed at the Tokyo Olympics in two boat classes and won gold in the coxless pair and a silver in the eight and set a new world's best time in the pair. Various parties, including the World Rowing Federation, expected her to win medals in Tokyo. She was the highest ranked female rower in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2021. Since 2014, her rowing partner in the coxless pair has been Kerri Gowler. Prendergast is also a Boat Race winner, having competed as part of Cambridge University Boat Club's (CUBC) women's crew in 2022. She retired from professional rowing in October 2022.
Ruby Tew is a New Zealand Olympic rower.
Spencer Alf Turrin is an Australian representative rower. He is a national champion, twice world champion, a dual Olympian and an Olympic champion. He competed and won medals in the Australian senior men's coxless four at every World Rowing Championship from 2013 to 2018, culminating in consecutive world championship gold at Sarasota 2017 and 2018 Plovdiv. He rowed in the two seat of the Australian men's coxless four to a gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Michael Brake is a New Zealand rower. He is a dual Olympian and won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
Caleb Shepherd is a New Zealand rowing cox. He holds the world best time in the men's coxed pair (2014) and represented at the Rio Olympics in the New Zealand eight. He coxed the New Zealand women's eight to their 2019 World Championship title and has been twice a world champion.
Brooke Donoghue is a New Zealand rower. She has twice won the world championship in the double scull alongside Olivia Loe, is the incumbent world champion, and won a silver medal in this boat class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with her new rowing partner, Hannah Osborne. As of 2021, she has won ten premier national rowing championships.
Phoebe Spoors is a New Zealand rower. From Christchurch, she was an unused reserve in the New Zealand women's eight at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in which her elder sister Lucy won a silver medal. In an unusual career progression for a New Zealand rower, she never represented the country as an age-group rower but joined the national team after some years in the United States for fulltime rowing at the University of Washington combined with tertiary study.
Kirstyn Moana Goodger is a New Zealand rower. Originally from Auckland and now based in Cambridge, she took up rowing in 2005. She has won one international medal for New Zealand – a silver at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships in France. From 2011 to 2014, she rowed for the Washington Huskies while studying oceanography at the University of Washington. Upon her return to New Zealand, she joined the Wairau Rowing Club and is one of the premier rowers who belongs to the Central Rowing Performance Centre. Goodger has been an elite rower for the national squad since 2017. She has represented her country at several World Rowing Cups, the 2017 and the 2019 World Rowing Championships. At the latter regatta, she managed to qualify the women's quad scull boat category for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She was chosen as one of ten rowers for the New Zealand women's eight and travelled to the Games with the team. The woman's eight squad would come away with a silver medal in the eight at the 2020 games. Goodger has won four premier national titles in the women's eight. She worked as a scientist and engineer for consultancy Beca in their ports and coastal team.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
