25 Jun 2014

Drysdale to compete at Henley

10:12 am on 25 June 2014

Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale will compete at the 175th Henley Royal Regatta in Britain next week.

Drysdale will race in West End Rowing club colours in the Diamond Challenge Sculls (men's single scull) at Henley.

Drysdale has won the Diamond Challenge Scull three times previously (2006, 2009, 2010).

He'll be up against a high quality international field of scullers with entries such as Olympic Bronze Medallist, Great Britain's Alan Campbell.

Drysdale has just gained back top form, having won Gold at the World Cup regatta in France at the weekend.

After the completion of the Henley Royal Regatta, Drysdale will compete at the third and final World Cup regatta being held in Lucerne before going onto the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

New Zealand will have a second competitor in the regatta - George Bridgewater is also competing at Henley in the single sculls.

Bridgewater retired from the sport after the Beijing Olympic Games, and made an announcement that he aims to make a comeback to the top level of the sport.

The Henley Royal Regatta is a knock-out competition with only two boats racing in each heat with the length of the Henley course running over 1 mile 550 yards, which is 112 metres longer than the standard international distance of 2,000 metres.