Boys in the New Zealand men's eight boat

Kennedy and pair partner Tom Murray are representing New Zealand in the men’s pair at the 2014 World Rowing Cup in Sydney, Australia. But when asked about their goals in the pair, both are coy.

“I think they (Bond and Murray) have got a pretty good hold, so it’s not a short term goal for us, but it is in the back of my mind that they have to retire eventually. The pair is one of my favourite boats in rowing, so for now I’m enjoying the opportunity,” says Murray.

Kennedy and Murray's main focus in Sydney is the men’s eight. The eight came together at the beginning of the 2013 international season when coach Ian Wright sat them down and asked them to write down their age, indoor rowing time, height and best rowing result. “He collected the papers and said, ‘right, we are going to be the weakest, smallest, youngest boat at the under-23 championships, so I am going to work you really, really hard.’ And that’s what we did,” says Kennedy.

The boat first raced internationally at last year’s World Rowing Cup in Sydney, just two weeks after coming together. “We got beat. From then on, we decided we didn’t want to lose anymore,” Kennedy says.  The nine of them put their heads down and continued training. “We rowed as many kilometres as we could. Getting to the very bottom of what you can do, it really brings you together.”

It worked. The New Zealand men’s eight stormed through the finish line at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in first place. The line-up has stayed exactly the same and they are back again this year to compete at the first World Rowing Cup.

“The Dutch eight is here and the Australian eight is really strong, so we would like to see how we compare,” says Kennedy. The eight will approach this season similar to last year, using every race as an opportunity to prove themselves.

Kennedy and Murray were both formerly rugby players who tried to juggle both sports before switching to rowing full time. “I loved rugby,” says Murray, “but the rowing coaches wouldn’t let up. I’ve never been the most powerful, but I just try to take everything the coaches say and row technically the best I can.”

Kennedy says that he was inspired by Rob Waddell and the Evers-Swindell twins, who “really changed rowing in New Zealand.”

Kennedy and Murray will compete in the A-final of the men’s pair 30 March at 9:28 (Sydney time) and the men’s eight just two hours later.

The young Kiwi men’s eight will compete again later this year at the second and third World Rowing Cups and the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. This group of nine who get along in what they call “controlled chaos” will set their sights on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.  

Follow the Kiwi eight on Facebook here.