Robert Nathan Twaddle (born 21 August 1976) 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 di ...

and Olympic medallist. He competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, in the coxless pair rowing with his partner George Bridgewater and won a bronze medal. The pair began representing New Zealand together in 2004 and won bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Twaddle was born in Whakatane, New Zealand. He crewed for the Otago University and Auckland Rowing Clubs, and won several titles at New Zealand Rowing Championships, including the single sculls championships. Twaddle crewed firstly for New Zealand at the World Championships in Milan Italy in 2003, qualifying for the Athens Olympics with pairs partner Robert Hellstrom. The following year, Twaddle and Bridgwater were paired together and finished fourth in the pairs final at the Athens Olympics. Twaddle and Bridgewater were world champions in 2005. They won a gold medal at the

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 ...

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in the

Magic 45 minutes The magic 45 minutes describes the duration of one of the most rewarding sporting periods in the history of New Zealand during which four New Zealand rowing teams won gold medals in four successive finals to be the most successful country at the 20 ...

where four New Zealand crews won gold medals. The pair were silver medallists in the 2006 and 2007 World Rowing Championships. The pair were named Halberg Team of the Year in 2005. Twaddle retired from international rowing in 2011. In the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

, Twaddle was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to rowing. He was part of the International Olympic Broadcasting Commentary team for the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio. Twaddle is a graduate of the Otago University, with a degree in Physical Education. He has post-graduate studies in finance. Following his rowing career, Twaddle worked as an Advisor for High Performance Sport New Zealand. Twaddle is a member of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Athletes Commission, having held the position since 2009. He is the current Chair of that Commission, and a member of the NZOC Board.

Career highlights

Prior to winning Olympic bronze, Twaddle and Bridgewater were world champions in 2005 and silver medalists in 2006 and 2007.

References

1976 births Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand male rowers Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Olympic rowers for New Zealand Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing People educated at Whakatane High School Sportspeople from Whakatāne Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand {{NewZealand-rowing-bio-stub