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 {{NewZealand-rowing-bio-stub