Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale, MNZM is a New Zealand rower.
Education
Drysdale attended Tauranga Boys" College in Tauranga, New Zealand, then the University of Auckland. After the 2004, in which his New Zealand crew finished fifth in the final, Drysdale switched to the single scull, winning the 2005 at Gifu, Japan, despite having broken two vertebrae in a crash with a water skier earlier in the year.
Career
The name Mahé comes from the largest island in the Seychelles. He began rowing at university at the age of 18. Drysdale began competing at World Cup level in 2002, in the New Zealand coxless four.
At the 2009 World Rowing Championships he also beat his own World Record in the single and reduced it to 6:33.35.
At his first, in 2004, Drysdale was part of the New Zealand coxless four team that finished fifth. Drysdale was officially selected as New Zealand"s Olympic heavyweight sculler for the Beijing Olympics on 7 March 2008.
He was also chosen to carry the flag for New Zealand during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony. The gold and silver medals went to Olaf Tufte from Norway and Ondřej Synek from the Czechoslovakian Republic, respectively.
Clearly suffering from his illness, after his race Drysdale was carried by life raft and then moved to a waiting ambulance.
He was also seen vomiting. He was, however, able to stand to be awarded his medal. He has since said he may not compete at the next rowing world championships but will attempt to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics, and in the meantime may take on new challenges such as ironman and New Zealand"s annual Coast To Coast multisport event.
He reclaimed the national title in 2012, as Cohen took second.
He did not compete in 2013. Drysdale has also represented New Zealand in canoe polo as a junior.
He represented New Zealand in an under-18 team that toured to Fiji. Later he was a New Zealand under-21 representative that toured to Tonga.
In 1999–2000 he was executive of New Zealand Canoe Polo.
Views
He successfully defended his title in 2006 at Dorney Lake, Eton, England, in 2007 at Munich, Germany, and again in 2009 in Poznań, Poland, holding off Britain"s Alan Campbell and Czechoslovakian Republic"s Ondřej Synek.
Membership
Drysdale is a member of the West End Rowing Club in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand, and Tideway Scullers, London.