Where are they now? Nathan Cohen

August 2^nd, 2012 the final of the men’s double sculls at the London Olympic Games. Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand sat in lane five after finishing second in their semifinal. They came into this race as back-to-back world champions but had not dominated the Olympic build-up. In front of a 30,000-strong crowd, Cohen and Sullivan rowed through the 1500m mark in fourth place.

Sullivan, in stroke seat, started to drive the stroke rate up. The duo began picking off the crews ahead of them until they reached the front with just metres of the race remaining. This phenomenal come-from-behind win earned Cohen and Sullivan “New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment” for 2012 and then in 2021 “New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment of the Decade”.

This Olympic race ended up being the beginning of the end for Cohen.

Cohen grew up in the southern tip of Aotearoa New Zealand in Invercargill. He took up rowing as a 13-year-old when his high school newsletter put out a call for anyone interested in joining a quad.

“From day one I enjoyed it; the people and getting out on water.”

Cohen says he didn’t stand out at the start and saw himself as the weaker one in the crew.

“But I was competitive and didn’t want to be there just to make up the numbers. So at 15 (years old) I decided to commit more to rowing and see what I could do.” Cohen did this by spending more time in the single and he started to gain results locally.

His rowing turning point came when Cohen won the under-17 single at New Zealand’s national secondary schools championships – Maadi Cup.

“I proved to myself what I could do if I dedicated myself. It gave me confidence in the sport that I could be alright. I wasn’t the biggest guy, but I beat the bigger guys.”

That under-17 Maadi Cup win still counts as one of Cohen’s proudest moments. His other proud moment was finishing second behind Mahe Drysdale in the single at the 2005 New Zealand Rowing Championships after leading for much of the race.

“It gave me inspiration and confidence and when Mahe won the World Championships four months later I thought ‘wow, I nearly beat him!’”

Cohen had been told he probably wouldn’t make it as an elite rower as he was 20cm shorter and 20kg lighter than many of the other elites. But now he realised he was as good as his elite counterparts.

The first national team selection for Cohen was for the 2023 World Rowing Junior Championships. He raced the men’s single sculls in Schinias, Greece. Despite the race being shortened to 1000m due to rough water, Cohen finished second behind Alexander Kornilov (Russia) and ahead of Girts Atslega (Latvia).

Cohen went on to race for 13 years on the New Zealand national team, taking in two Olympic Games and earning two World Championship titles.

Following his Olympic win, Cohen started to prepare for Olympics number three. Unfortunately, after the London Olympics Cohen was having heart issues.

“I realised that I could be a liability in the sport. The issues weren’t major but it planted a seed of doubt that I could be a liability to the crew. I’d achieved more than I imagined I ever would, so I was satisfied.”

Cohen began looking to the next stage.

“It was difficult. Rowing was all I’d known in my adult life. I loved the training and the wider team and I enjoyed most aspects of the sport. It was difficult to walk away from the people and the team I’d been part of.”

Cohen says he was fortunate. He’d completed a finance degree and had been working part-time in the banking industry while still rowing.

“I had a broad idea of what I’d get into, so I started the process for my second stage of life and the start of a career.”

Cohen got more involved in investment and fund management. Seven years ago he started his own advisory business.

Now with two kids – ten and six years old – Cohen stays involved in sport by coaching rugby and football. He’s stayed involved in rowing with a bit of coaching and some governance work. He keeps strong and healthy for his annual get together with old rowing friends when they test each other’s fitness. He mountain bikes, does multisport, and weight training.

“It’s nice to have a level of fitness that I can wake up tomorrow and do anything I want.”

Cohen says he has taken from rowing the ability to focus on the process rather than the outcome.

“You can achieve what you want with commitment and focusing on the process.

“Rowing is an amazing sport to be part of. I look back and think when I was younger it felt like I was sacrificing a lot. But I think it was the most amazing life opportunity. It’s built incredible memories and I’ve gained incredible opportunities from it. Even without the Olympic gold it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.”