Robert Manson (born 11 October 1989) is a 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 ...
.
Manson was born in 1989.
He is from a family of rowers, with his father Greg the singles lightweight national champion in 1985, and his brother Karl also competing internationally.
He won a bronze medal at the
2015 World Rowing Championships
The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette in France.
Description
The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the ...
. At the 2017 New Zealand rowing nationals at
Lake Ruataniwha
Lake Ruataniwha is an artificial lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed in 1977–1981 as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces, ...
, he partnered with
Chris Harris in the men's double sculls and they became national champions. Manson also became single sculls national champion, aided by the absence of both
Mahé Drysdale
Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale (born 19 November 1978) is a retired New Zealand rower. Drysdale is a two-time Olympic champion and a five-time world champion in the single sculls. He is a seven-time New Zealand national champion and five-time ...
and
Hamish Bond
Hamish Bryon Bond (born 13 February 1986) 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 Olymp ...
.
In 2014, Manson came out as gay being one of the first
out LGBT persons in rowing from New Zealand.
In 2017, Manson won the men's single sculls at the
World Rowing Cup
The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each eve ...
II in
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
, Poland, setting a new world best time of 6:30.74, beating Mahé Drysdale's record by 3 seconds. As of August 2022 that time still stood as the world's best.
On 20 October 2020, Manson announced his retirement from rowing.
References
Living people
1989 births
New Zealand male rowers
Olympic rowers of New Zealand
Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand
Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
New Zealand LGBT sportspeople
Gay sportsmen
Queer men
LGBT rowers
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