Eric Franciscus Maria Verdonk (28 May 1959 – 3 April 2020) was a New Zealand rower who won bronze medals in the

single sculls A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

events at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

, and

1990 World Rowing Championships Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

Career

Verdonk began rowing at Westlake Boys High School in Forrest Hill,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. In 1976, he won the Maadi Cup. He was a member of the

North Shore Rowing Club North Shore Rowing Club is the oldest sporting club on the north side of Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia formed in 1879. It has occupied its current site on the Lane Cove River at Yacht Bay, Longueville since 1933. The club has a focus on mas ...

, joining the club in 1973. At the

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, Verdonk won a bronze medal in the

; the race was won by

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

. He also came fourth in the

double sculls A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

event at the Games. At the

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, Verdonk competed in the single sculls. He won his heat, came third in his semi-final, and finished third in the final behind

Thomas Lange Thomas Lange (born 27 February 1964) is a German rower who won two gold and one bronze Olympic medals in the single sculls. Lange is one of six rowers (along with Mahé Drysdale, Pertti Karppinen, Peter-Michael Kolbe, Ondřej Synek and Vyac ...

and

Peter-Michael Kolbe Peter-Michael Kolbe (, ; born 2 August 1953) is a retired German rower who specialized in the single sculls. In this event, between 1975 and 1988 he won five world titles and three Olympic silver medals, in 1976, 1984 and 1988; he missed the 198 ...

. At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Verdonk finished fourth, and at one point in the race was 0.62 seconds behind Pole Kajetan Broniewski, who finished third. In total, he competed at five

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

, and his best result was third, at the

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, Australia. Verdonk was sixth in the single sculls at the

1987 World Rowing Championships The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy". Medal summary Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were: Men's ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and was fifth in the single sculls at the

1991 World Rowing Championships The 1991 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 19 to 25 August 1991 in Vienna, Austria. The regatta was held on the New Danube. Medal summary The finals were raced on Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 August ...

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. In 1994, Verdonk won the double sculls event at the Commonwealth Championships in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, and finished second in the

quad scull A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated 4x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by sculling with two oars, or "sculls", one in each hand. Rac ...

event. Verdonk also won a single sculls event at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

, becoming the first New Zealander to win the event. Another year, Verdonk came second in the single sculls event at the Henley Royal Regatta. He won seven consecutive New Zealand single skulls national championships between 1987 and 1993. He won six New Zealand double skulls national championships, with four different partners. Following his retirement, Verdonk worked for Waitakere Sports Association, and from 2017, Verdonk was the head coach at Takapuna Grammar School Rowing Club In March 2020, the club made him a lifetime member. Also in 2020, the New Zealand Rowing Foundation awarded Verdonk a legacy medal for his contributions to rowing in New Zealand.

Personal life and death

Verdonk was born in Taihape, New Zealand to Dutch parents, and his native language was Dutch. He was married and had a son and a daughter. Verdonk died of cancer on 3 April 2020 in

, at the age of 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdonk, Eric 1959 births 2020 deaths New Zealand male rowers Olympic rowers of New Zealand Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics New Zealand people of Dutch descent People educated at Westlake Boys High School Olympic medalists in rowing People from Taihape Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games