Eric Murray (rower)

Eric Murray

Murray in 2010, with Bond in the background
Personal information
Full name	Eric Gordon Murray
Born	(1982-05-06) 6 May 1982 (age 34) Hastings, New Zealand
Height	196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	98 kg (216 lb)
Relatives	Gary Robertson (father-in-law)
Medal record cite Men's rowing Representing  New Zealand Olympic Games 2012 London Men's coxless pair 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men's coxless pair World Championships 2007 Munich Men's coxless four 2009 Poznan Men's coxless pair 2010 Karapiro Men's coxless pair 2011 Bled Men's coxless pair 2013 Chungjiu Men's coxless pair 2014 Amsterdam Men's coxed pair 2014 Amsterdam Men's coxless pair 2015 Aiguebelette Men's coxless pair

Eric Gordon Murray MNZM (born 6 May 1982) is a New Zealand rower and gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, as well as at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He won four consecutive World Rowing Championship gold medals and set two world best times.

Murray was born in Hastings. His parents are Annette and Peter, and his older sister is Fiona. When Murray was an infant, the family moved to Manurewa. Soon after, they then bought land in Bombay, where Murray grew up and attended primary school. At school, Murray enjoyed swimming competitions and later moved to triathlons. When he grew too tall and running became uncomfortable, he gave up on that while at Pukekohe High School.

In 2006, he married Jackie Robertson, the eldest daughter of Gary Robertson. His father-in-law had been a member of the 1972 New Zealand eight that won gold at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

At Pukekohe High School, Murray played rugby union and was looking for a summer sport to keep fit for the next season of winter rugby, so he and a friend went to the Mercer Rowing Club for an advertised open day. They had one race that year in a coxed four made up of novices, and they came last by a wide margin. His school was not one of the traditional rowing schools, but Paula Twining was in his year and enjoyed successes at New Zealand championships, which gave inspiration to other novice rowers. Murray first went to the Maadi Cup, New Zealand's premier school rowing regatta, in 1997, but did not achieve anything at Lake Karapiro. In 1998, when the regatta was held at Lake Ruataniwha, he came third in the U16 double, and second in the U16 quad. He was in his last year at high school in 1999, and at that year's Maadi Cup, he won the U-17 quad national title. After their 1999 success, their trainer—Charles Haggie—introduced them to people in the rowing scene so that they would end up with one of the dominant rowing clubs at the time after they left school: Avon Rowing Club, Auckland Rowing Club, or Waikato Rowing Club.