Paris 2024: 18-strong Rowing Team To Represent New Zealand At The Paris Olympic Games

An 18-strong rowing team, including nine athletes who have won World Championship or Olympic medals, has been named to represent New Zealand at the Paris Olympic Games next month.

Tokyo Olympic champion Emma Twigg is the most experienced team member and will become the first ever New Zealand rower to compete in five Olympic Games. The 37-year-old says it's been a huge journey since she competed as a 21-year-old in the Women’s Single Sculls at the Beijing Games in 2008.

“Olympics number five is something I'm extremely proud of, reflecting on 21-year-old Emma, who was selected for her first Olympics in Beijing in 2008,” says Twigg.

“There's been some highs and some lows...it's all kind of part of the story and my result in Tokyo was the cherry on top I guess...it could have been the time that I retired and stepped away, but I'm really grateful to have been back in the boat for the last three years, and a short Olympic cycle has got me to my fifth Games which is a real privilege and an honour.

“Every Olympics I learnt something. In Tokyo, I certainly learnt a few things as well so to say that I've had four where I've learnt different things, that's definitely something that’s in my arsenal leading into Paris and it's something I hope to really draw upon.”

The Women’s Four of Kerri Williams, her sister Jackie Gowler, Davina Waddy and Phoebe Spoors also has vast Olympic and World Championship experience.

Williams is a double Olympic medalist, winning gold in the Women’s Pair and silver in the Women’s Eight at the Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s such an honour for me to represent New Zealand at the Olympics,” said Williams. “I feel grateful for the opportunity to compete against the best athletes in the world.”

Gowler was also in the eight in Tokyo and won a World Championship in the boat in 2019. Phoebe Spoors and Waddy were travelling reserves in Tokyo and will get to compete in their first Olympic race in Paris.

“My first memory of the Olympics was watching the 2012 London Games on TV with my family,” said Waddy. “I remember the sense of awe and inspiration I had towards all sports.

“At that stage, I was competing to a high level in equestrian eventing and hadn’t ever rowed, so my Olympic dreams were probably focused there.”

There are strong family ties within the women’s squad as well as a significant link to Christchurch Girls High School. Waddy, Phoebe Spoors and her sister Lucy all began their rowing there.

Lucy has been named in the Women’s Double Sculls with Brooke Francis. Both are former World Champions and Olympic medalists. Lucy Spoors was in the women’s eight in Tokyo, while Francis won silver in the Women’s Double. Both athletes took time out after Tokyo to start families and returned to international competition last year.

Jackie Kiddle and Shannon Cox have been named in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls. Kiddle was a World Champion in the event in 2019 but was unable to compete at what would have been her first Olympics in Tokyo after the late withdrawal of her partner Zoe McBride. She is also a World Champion in coastal rowing, which has been included in the sport program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Cox made her international debut just a year ago at the world championships in Serbia, where she and Kiddle finished fifth. Last month they won silver at the World Cup II regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Alana Sherman and Kate Haines have been confirmed in the Women’s Pair after qualifying the boat for Paris at the recent Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland last month. It will be the first Olympics for both athletes.

“It's a huge honour and something that I've honestly dreamt about since I was in primary school,” says Haines. “I remember always being super sporty and doing every sport and then in intermediate I even wrote in my time capsule thing I hope that I'm an Olympian one day. I feel like it's been this thing in my life for so long.”

The men’s squad includes Tokyo gold medalists Matt Macdonald and Tom Murray, who will row the Men’s Four with Ollie Maclean and Logan Ullrich. Maclean was a reserve in Tokyo, while Ullrich is set to compete in his first Olympics. This time last year the two were competing against each other for their respective eights at the US Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships in New Jersey.

Maclean is a graduate from Cal Berkeley, Ullrich graduated from University of Washington. To be selected to row in Paris was important to Ullrich in two distinct ways.

“Firstly, it means I have completed a goal I set myself many years ago and achieving that goal is very fulfilling, said Ullrich. “The second is the sense of pride I have in representing the fern at the Olympics. I am a proud kiwi and the honour of rowing for my country is truly life-changing.”

Tom Mackintosh will compete in the Men’s Single Sculls, hoping to join the list of New Zealand athletes to have excelled in the event. He won a bronze medal at the World Championships last year, in his first season competing in the boat, and was in the Men's Eight which won gold in Tokyo.

“While Tokyo was a ‘one of a kind Games’ I’m incredibly excited to be able to share this experience with our family, friends and supporters,” said Mackintosh.

“I’m going well, but it’s different not being able to lean on other crew mates as much as last time. I’m embracing this season as unchartered territory and that really motivates me.”

Two top-class single scullers have been named in the Men’s Double Sculls. Robbie Manson will compete in his third Olympics, and still holds the world’s best time in the single sculls. He set the mark (6min 30.74sec) at a World Cup event in 2017. He's joined by Jordan Parry who was fourth in the event at the world championships in 2022.

New Zealand has also qualified a boat for the Men’s Pair at Paris, with the crew to be nominated, along with the men's reserves, following the World Cup III event in Poland this month.

NZOC CEO Nicki Nicol congratulated the athletes on their achievements.

"We're thrilled to be taking an exciting and experienced rowing team to Paris," said Nicol. "New Zealand has a proud rowing history at the Olympic Games and we look forward to watching these athletes add to that legacy next month in Paris."

The rowing competition at Paris 2024 will be contested from July 27th to August 3rd.

Women’s Single Scull (W1x) - Emma Twigg

Women’s Double Scull (W2x) - Lucy Spoors, Brooke Francis

Women’s Lightweight Double Scull (LW2x) - Jackie Kiddle, Shannon Cox

Women’s Coxless Pair (W2-) -Alana Sherman, Kate Haines

Women’s Coxless Four (W4-) - Kerri Williams, Davina Waddy, Phoebe Spoors, Jackie Gowler

Men’s Single Scull (M1x) - Tom Mackintosh

Men’s Double Scull (M2x) - Robbie Manson, Jordan Parry

Men’s Coxless Four (M4-) - Matt Macdonald, Tom Murray, Logan Ullrich, Oliver Maclean

Stella Clayton-Greene has been named as a travelling reserve, with Ella Cossill, Bella Carter and Kathryn Glen named as non-travelling reserves to the team.

Athlete Bios:

Emma Twigg

Event: Women's Single Scull

Emma Twigg is an Olympic Gold medalist having won the women's single scull event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Twigg looked a cut above in Tokyo, finishing in 7min 13.97sec, nearly three and a-half seconds clear of the silver medalist.

Paris will be Twigg's fifth Olympic campaign and follows fourth place finishes at both Rio 2016 and London 2012.

Based in Cambridge and coached by Mike Rodger, Twigg has a number of qualifications, including a Bachelor of Communication and a master's degree in international sports management (FIFA). She is a cycle mechanic, a marriage celebrant, and has completed her boat master's qualification.

Brooke Francis

Event: Women’s Double Sculls

Brooke Francis (nee Donoghue) won an Olympic silver medal in the Women's Double Sculls alongside boatmate Hannah Osborne at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Racing in hot conditions at Tokyo's Sea Forrest Waterway, Francis and Osborne finished second behind Romania in a time of 6m 44.82s.

Tokyo was Francis’ debut Olympics. She began rowing in 2010 at Mercer Rowing Club and made her international debut at the junior level in 2013.

She made her elite debut in 2016 in the Women's Quadruple Sculls and came painfully close to qualifying for the Rio Olympics. She won the 2019 World Championships in the double alongside Olivia Loe.

Lucy Spoors

Event: Women’s Double Sculls

Lucy Spoors will combine with Brooke Francis in the Women’s Double Sculls in Paris.

She was a member of the Women's Eight which won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The eight finished behind Canada to claim New Zealand's first ever Olympic medal in the event.

Spoors took time out after Tokyo to start a family but returned to international rowing in 2023, switching to sculling.

In 2019, she won a world championship title in the Women’s Eight, the first New Zealand crew to achieve the feat in the women’s event.

She is originally from Christchurch but moved to Cambridge to row in 2009. She has a degree in linguistics through Massey University.

Kate Haines

Event: Women’s Pair

The Paris Olympics will be Haines’ first Olympics. She has been selected alongside Waikato clubmate Alana Sherman.

The pair had to qualify the boat at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne in May 2024. They secured the spot by finishing second in the final behind Denmark in a time of 7m 19.71s.

Haines’ first world championship regatta was in 2022, when she was a member of the Women’s Quadruple Sculls that finished fourth in the B Final.

One of her ambitions is to attend the prestigious Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where her father also studied, and race in the world-renowned Cambridge vs Oxford Boat Race.

Alana Sherman

Event: Women’s Pair

The Paris Olympics will be Sherman’s first Olympics. She first competed overseas at the World Cup III regatta in July 2023 where she finished sixth in the B Final with crew mate Kirstyn Goodger. She was then selected to row the pair with Haines at the world championships that September, where they finished 13th overall.

The pair had to qualify the boat at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta in Lucerne in May 2024. They secured the spot by finishing second in the final behind Denmark in a time of 7m 19.71s.

Sherman is relatively new to the sport, only taking it up in her second year at Auckland University.

Kerri Williams

Event: Women’s Four

Kerri Williams (nee Gowler) is a double Olympic medalist having won gold in the Women's Pair and silver in the Eight at Tokyo 2020.

Williams and crewmate Grace Prendergast set the tone early in Tokyo, recording a world record to win their semi-final in 6m 47.41s. The following day they won New Zealand's first gold medal of the Tokyo Games in a time of 6m 50.19s. The next day Williams jumped in the eight to claim silver behind Canada.

Tokyo was Williams’ second Olympic Games, after she finished fourth in the Women's Eight at Rio 2016.

In 2014, she broke both the Under-23 Pair and the elite Women's Four records in the same season. Williams and Prendergast won gold at the 2019 World Championships in both the pair and the eight.

Jackie Gowler

Event: Women’s Four

Jackie Gowler will be attending her second Olympic Games after winning a silver medal in Tokyo in the Women’s Eight.

She is the younger sister of Kerri Williams.

The sisters took up rowing at Nga Tawa Diocesan in Marton. Gowler first represented New Zealand at rowing in 2014, winning a silver medal in the Junior Four at the world championships. Her first senior selection came in 2017 as part of the Women’s Pair.

In 2019, she stroked the New Zealand Women’s Eight to a first ever gold medal at a senior world championship.

Davina Waddy

Event: Women’s Four

As a youngster, Davina Waddy was a successful equestrian eventer and had dreams of going to the Olympics in that sport.

But after taking up rowing at Christchurch Girls’ High School she has never looked back.

Waddy was a travelling reserve for the women’s sweep programme at the Tokyo Olympics. She was a member of the New Zealand Eight that finished fourth at the Under 23 World Championships in 2016. Since then she has only ever been selected into a women’s four.

Phoebe Spoors

Event: Women’s Four

Paris 2024 will be Phoebe Spoors first Olympic Games after she went to Tokyo as a travelling reserve. She is a fours specialist, making her international debut at the Word Cup II regatta in 2018.

Spoors is a graduate from the University of Washington where she completed a Political Science and Communications degree. During her time at Washington, she helped the Huskies to an NCAA championship.

Jackie Kiddle

Event: Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls

Paris will be Jackie Kiddle’s first Olympic Games. She qualified the boat for the Tokyo Games but had to withdraw after her doubles partner pulled out.

Kiddle has formed an impressive combination with international newcomer Shannon Cox for Paris. The crew competed at the World Championships in 2023, finishing in fifth place.They won a silver medal at the World Cup II regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May 2024.

Kiddle was a world champion in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls in 2019 and a silver medalist in 2017.

Outside of rowing, Kiddle has completed a BSc in Animal Behaviour and an MSc (Research) in Ecology and Biodiversity from the University of Waikato.

Shannon Cox

Event: Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls

Shannon Cox will combine with Jackie Kiddle in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls.Paris will be her first Olympics after she made her international debut in 2023. She started rowing at Whangarei Girls High School in 2012.

Cox won her first National Premier title in 2022, winning the Women’s Single Sculls. It was her first Red Coat, the jacket awarded to national champions at the Premier level.

Cox plans to join the Police, where she would like to become a dog handler. Both her parents are in the force.

Matt Macdonald

Event: Men’s Four

Matt Macdonald will be competing in his second Olympics.He has been selected in the Men’s Coxless Four, which qualified for Paris by winning a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Serbia.

He was a member of the New Zealand Men’s Eight that won gold in Tokyo. The crew's journey to, and victory at, Tokyo was nothing short of remarkable. The eight originally missed out on qualification, having not placed highly enough at the 2019 World Championships.

In 2021, the crew attended the ‘last chance regatta' in Switzerland in an effort to secure their Olympic berth. They won the regatta and returned to New Zealand in May where they were required to undergo two weeks of managed isolation in individual hotel rooms, just over a month out from their departure to Japan.

Macdonald started rowing as a student at Auckland Grammar School.

Tom Murray

Event: Men’s Four

Tom Murray will be making his third Olympics appearance in Paris. He’ll compete in the Men’s Four, which qualified for the Games after winning a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Serbia.

He is an Olympic gold medalist, claiming the top podium spot at Tokyo 2020 in the Men's Eight. The crew's journey to, and victory at, Tokyo was nothing short of remarkable. The crew originally missed out on qualification for Tokyo, having not placed highly enough at the 2019 World Championships.

In 2021, the crew attended the ‘last chance regatta' in Switzerland in an effort to secure their Olympic berth. They won the regatta and returned to New Zealand in May where they were required to undergo two weeks of managed isolation in individual hotel rooms, just over a month out from their departure to Japan.

Murray was also in the Men’s Eight for the Rio Olympics, where they finished sixth. Originally from Blenheim, Murray relocated to Cambridge in 2013 to pursue his rowing.

Logan Ullrich

Event: Men’s Four

Logan Ullrich will be competing in his first Olympic Games. He grew up playing rugby and first started rowing back in 2013 for Brisbane Grammar School and KAND Rowing Club in Australia.

He represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in 2018, winning a bronze medal in the Coxed Four.

He attended University of Washington on scholarship where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Food Systems, Nutrition & Health.

In his 2021/2022 season at UW, Logan rowed in the Varsity Eight that won the Head of the Charles Championship Eights race. The crew had a successful season and went on to claim 4th at the 2022 IRA National Rowing Championship.

He represented New Zealand at the U23 World Championships in 2022, winning a silver medal in the Men’s Four. A year later he won a bronze medal in the four at the senior World Championships in Serbia.

Ollie Maclean

Event: Men’s Four

The Paris Olympics will be Ollie Maclean’s first Olympic Games after he was a travelling reserve for the men’s sweep programme for Tokyo.

Ollie started rowing at King’s College in Auckland before moving to the United States where he rowed for University of California, Berkeley.

He won back-to-back Intercollegiate Rowing Association 1V Eight titles and was a Pac-12 Rower of the Year two years running.

He represented New Zealand at the 2016 Junior World Championships, where he finished fifth in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls. He won gold in the quad at the Under 23 Worlds a year later.

Ollie was in the Men’s Four that won bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Serbia.

Robbie Manson

Event: Men’s Double Sculls

Paris 2024 will be Robbie Manson’s third Olympic Games. He competed in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls at the 2012 London Games where they finished seventh.

He made the switch to the Elite Men’s double for the next Olympic cycle. In that time, he won multiple World Rowing Cups and a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. He and Chris Harris placed 11th in Rio.

In 2017, Robbie set the world’s best time in the single sculls, his mark of 6m 30.74 still stands. He took a break from the sport at the end of 2020, returning to international rowing in the Men’s Double Sculls in 2023.

Robbie's mother, Kaye Surgenor, is a NZ representative coach and his father, Greg Manson, represented NZ in the Lightweight Single Sculls at the 1985 World Championships.

Jordan Parry

Event Men’s Double Sculls

Jordan Parry started rowing at Tauranga Boys’ College and Tauranga Rowing Club in 2010. Paris will be his second Olympics.

After a successful 2020/21 summer season in the NZ Elite Summer Squad, Jordan earned his place for Olympic selection in the Men's Single during the Elite Men's trials. He was pitted against two-time Olympic gold medalist Mahe Drysdale in three trial events before gaining selection. Jordan was 13th in Tokyo, describing his performance as: "The highest of high external expectations and the greatest of great failures from my eyes."

He was again selected for the Men’s Single Sculls at the 2022 World Championships where he finished fourth, just 0.81s behind the bronze medal winner.

He will row with Robbie Manson in the boat for Paris.

Tom Mackintosh

Event Men’s Single Sculls

Tom Mackintosh is an Olympic gold medalist, claiming the top podium spot at Tokyo 2020 in the Men’s Eight.

The crew's journey to, and victory at, Tokyo was nothing short of remarkable. The eight originally missed out on qualification, having not placed highly enough at the 2019 World Championships.

In 2021, the crew attended the ‘last chance regatta' in Switzerland in an effort to secure their Olympic berth. They won the regatta and returned to New Zealand in May where they were required to undergo two weeks of managed isolation in individual hotel rooms, just over a month out from their departure to Japan.

Tom rowed the Men’s Pair at the 2022 World Championships with fellow Tokyo gold medalist Matt Macdonald, where they finished sixth.

He took a break from the sport following that campaign but decided to give rowing another go in 2023, taking on the challenge of competing in the Men’s Single Sculls. He achieved immediate success, winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Serbia.

Tom graduated with a BCom from University of Canterbury in 2019, adding a Masters of Management through Massey University. Paris will be his second Olympics.

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