David Marsden Rodger (born 18 June 1955) is a former New Zealand

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

who won an Olympic bronze medal. Rodger was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, New Zealand. Rodger was first selected to represent New Zealand in New Zealand Rowing's first Junior eight crew in 1973 with team members David Symmons,

Peter Dignan Peter Fraser Dignan (6 March 1955 – 20 June 2013) was a New Zealand rower. Biography Dignan was born in Gibraltar in 1955, to a former Berlin airlift pilot. His father later entered the diplomatic corps and, as a result, Dignan spent a ...

, Ross Lindstrom, Graham Hamilton, Peter Rowbotham, Graham Hill, Greg Ball and Frank Sheehan finishing fifth at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England. He then represented New Zealand in the u23 class of a tour of Australia winning all races. 1974 saw his first foray at elite level in the NZ eight finishing third at the Lucerne World Rowing Championships in Switzerland. He rowed in the same boat class in the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champions ...

, Great Britain, and won a bronze medal. At the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

he was a member of the eight along with

Tony Hurt Anthony John Hurt (born 30 March 1946) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he teamed with Dick Joyce, Wybo Veldman, John Hunter, Lindsay Wilson, Joe Earl, Trevor Coker and Gary R ...

Ivan Sutherland Ivan Edward Sutherland (born May 16, 1938) is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer, widely regarded as a pioneer of computer graphics. His early work in computer graphics as well as his teaching with David C. Evans in that subje ...

Trevor Coker Trevor Ian Coker (1 October 1949 – 23 August 1981) was a New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. He was born in Whanganui, New Zealand. Coker won the European Championship in 1971. Known then as the "New Zealand Eight", Coker and his tea ...

, Lindsay Wilson,

Joe Earl Athol John "Joe" Earl (born 1 October 1952) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. Earl was born in 1952 in Christchurch and grew up on a farm in Hawarden in North Canterbury. He received his education at St. Andrew's Colle ...

and

Alec McLean Alexander Robert McLean (born 18 October 1950) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal. Early life and family Born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 18 October 1950, McLean was educated at Onslow College. In 1975, he marrie ...

and

Simon Dickie Simon Charles Dickie (31 March 1951 – 13 December 2017) was a New Zealand rowing cox who won three Olympic medals. Dickie was born in 1951 in Waverley in Taranaki, New Zealand. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School where he was part ...

(cox). The

1977 World Rowing Championships The 1977 World Rowing Championships was the 6th World Rowing Championships. The championships were held from 19 to 28 August 1977 on the Bosbaan rowing lake in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Medal summary About 556 rowers from 28 countries competed ...

saw Rodger secure second spot in the coxless four with Ivan Sutherland,

David Lindstrom David Edward Lindstrom (born 29 September 1948) is a New Zealand rower. Early life Lindstrom was born in 1948 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He received his education at St Bede's College (1962–1966) and then studied obtained a Bachelor of Co ...

and

Des Lock Desmond John Lock (born 2 October 1949) is a New Zealand rower. Lock was born in 1949 in Batu Gajah, Malaysia. He was a member of Petone Rowing Club. He represented New Zealand at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the coxless four in a team with Bob ...

under new coach

Harry Mahon Harold Thomas Mahon (15 January 1942 – 19 May 2001) was a New Zealand rowing coach. He coached international crews from New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa and Great Britain to success at World Championships and Olympic Games. He also coach ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

saw another third in the men's eight at his home course of

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapir ...

, New Zealand. 1979 was a compulsory rest and marriage to Dianne Zorn, a leading New Zealand athlete. Rodger was selected for the coxed four to compete at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

but did not go due to the Olympics boycott.

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

saw Rodger gain a seat back in the elite men's eight as stroke but also saw Rodger for the first time relinquish a top three spot as he'd scored in previous world championships. However, the next year with Rodger in the six seat saw the NZ eight catapult from seventh in 1981 to world champions in 1982 and 1983. At the 1982 World Rowing Championships at

Rotsee __NOTOC__ The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world. Description and location The lake and its surrounding area is ...

, Switzerland, he was the stroke. At the 1983 World Rowing Championships at

Wedau The Wedau Regatta Course is an artificial rowing/canoeing lake in Duisburg, Germany. The Course was built in 1935 and has hosted numerous international watersports events since its construction. Including the 1983 World Rowing Championships. It h ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, Germany, he was in seat three. At the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

he was a member of the eight which finished fourth. His wife competed in the women's 3000 metres, and that year they were the first husband and wife to compete for New Zealand at the same Olympic Games. After the disappointment of a fourth place at the Olympic Games, Rodger continued a further year in the eight in 1985 only to come fourth again, this time in the two seat. Some believe that if Rodger had been in the six seat in both the Olympic eight and the 1985 eight the crew results could have been more golden but of that is now speculation or part of the rowing story time. The resulting fourth and continued placement in the two seat saw Rodger retire from rowing and join the 1987 America's Cup in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia. Rodger enjoyed being part of a group of people who built and sailed the first fibreglass 12 metre yacht (KZ3) in the 12 metre world championships finishing fifth as a grinder and the first of five rowers to join the America's cup and

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

at a later stage. Rodger now coaches, encouraging deep burn and sixty-minute ergs, as well as eating yoghurt and drinking milk straight after training. He has been quoted as saying "if you were like me you would be viewing milk as a food and not as a liquid" and "you'll see that I'm really a sheep in wolf's clothing" and "a joke's a joke, a poke's a poke......no poke, no joke." He is well respected for making awkward jokes about his New Zealand accent, relying heavily on the correlation between 'six' and 'sex'. His son Logan is now attempting to follow in his father's footsteps as a budding young rower and member of the Waikato Regional Performance Rowing Centre. In 1982, the 1982 rowing eight crew was named sportsman of the year. The 1982 team was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

in 1995.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodger, Dave 1955 births Living people New Zealand male rowers Olympic rowers of New Zealand Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics