2023 World Rowing Cup III - Mahé Drysdale receives his Thomas Keller Medal

Who can forget Mahe Drysdale’s stroke-for-stroke race to the line in Rio against Damir Martin? Or watching Drysdale being stretchered off at the end of his Beijing Olympic final? Or replacing Marcel Hacker’s World Best Time in the single with his own? Or helping put together the ‘Great 8’ of the best single scullers in the world? Now one of the greats of our sport has another accomplishment to add to his list, the 2022 Thomas Keller Medal. Throughout his remarkable training and racing regime Drysdale built friendships and helped unite the single scullers into a group that was fiercely competitive on the water and great friends off the water. “What I’m most proud of is the friendships developed through rowing,” Drysdale said after receiving the award. “To go to the World Champs in 2022 and race in the tribute to Ondrej Synek. To get those guys together that have been my biggest competitors but also my biggest friends through my whole rowing career is special.