Nathan Cohen (rower)

Nathan Cohen
MNZM
Cohen in 2013
Personal information
Full nameNathan Phillip Cohen
Born (1986-01-02) 2 January 1986 (age 38)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Alma mater
Years active2000–2013
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight192 lb (87 kg)[1]
Sport
SportRowing
Eventsculls
University teamOtago University Rowing Club
ClubInvercargill Rowing Club
Coached byCalvin Ferguson[2]
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingWorld champion
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  New Zealand
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Double sculls
World Rowing Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Karapiro Double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2011 Bled Double sculls
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Trakai Single sculls
Updated on 30 October 2013

Nathan Phillip Cohen MNZM (born 2 January 1986) is a New Zealand rower. He is a two-time world champion, and won a gold medal in the Olympics. In 2006, rowing a single scull, he won a gold medal at the World University Games. In doing so, he became the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the World University Games in any sport. Cohen and his rowing partner, Joseph Sullivan, won back-to-back gold medals in the men's double sculls at both the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he and his partner won the gold medal in the men's double sculls, after breaking the Olympic best time in the heats. In 2013, Cohen was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rowing.

Early years

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Cohen was born in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. His father is Phil Cohen. His younger brother Hayden, exactly six years his junior, is also a rower.[3][4][5] Hayden was the 2012 U23 World Champion in the double scull, and in 2013 partnered with Nathan in the quad scull, winning a silver medal in the first World Cup regatta held in Sydney.[6]

Cohen grew up in Invercargill in Southland, and started rowing in 2000.[5][7][8] He grew up racing on Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel, in the South Island of New Zealand.[9]

Career

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2003–06; World University Games champion

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Cohen won the boys under-18 single scull event at the New Zealand Secondary School Rowing Championships in 2003, while attending James Hargest High School.[5][10] He credits that with being his most memorable race, saying: "It showed me that if you wanted something enough and were willing to push yourself beyond all your perceived limits, anything was possible."[9]

After graduating high school, he began studying for an engineering degree at the University of Canterbury.[5] He later switched to studying for a commerce degree at Massey University, by correspondence.[5][11] He attended the University of Otago, where he was a member of the Otago University Rowing Club. He is a member of the Invercargill Rowing Club, which honored him for his accomplishments by making him a life member.[2][12][13]

In both 2003 and 2004, Cohen was second in the World Rowing Junior Championships in the single scull. In 2005, he won a silver medal in the World Rowing U23 Championships.[2]

In the summer of 2006, rowing single sculls Cohen won a silver medal at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Belgium, a gold medal in the Commonwealth Rowing Regatta in Scotland, and a gold medal at the World University Games by 8 seconds in Lithuania.[14][15] He became the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the World University Championship in any sport.[15][16] In recognition of his accomplishment, Cohen was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award at the NZ Universities Blues Awards.[17]

2007–11; World champion

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In 2007, Cohen won a silver medal at the United States World Rowing Challenge in Oklahoma in men's single sculls.[12] In 2007 and early 2008, he rowed with Matthew Trott in the World Rowing Championships in Munich, coming in sixth in the double sculls and securing a berth for New Zealand at the Olympics the following year.[18][19]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Shunyi, Beijing in August 2008, he and Rob Waddell finished fourth in the double sculls final.[20][21][22]

Cohen won back-to-back world championships. He won a gold medal in the men's double sculls with rowing partner Joseph Sullivan at both the 2010 (at Lake Karapiro, by six hundredths of a second over Germans Hans Gruhne and Stephan Krüger, in 6:10.76) and 2011 World Rowing Championships (in Slovenia, in 6:22.63).[23][8][21][22]

In 2011, he won the 2011 New Zealand National Rowing Championships single scull title at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel, with a time of 7 minutes, 3.97 seconds, to win the Sir Bernard Freyberg Cup.[24][25] He beat out single scull world champion Mahé Drysdale by 7.46 seconds. He also won the double sculls with ex-partner Trott.[2][24][26][27] He was named Sportsman of the Year in the 2011 University of Waikato Blues Awards.[28]

2012–present; Olympic champion

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At the 2012 Summer Olympics at Eton Dorney, Windsor, Cohen and rowing partner Sullivan won the gold medal in the men's double sculls, after a training regimen of 200 km each week on the water.[21][29][30] They broke the Olympic record best time in the heats, with a time of 6:11.30.[23][31]

In the finals they were in last place at the 500 m mark, in fifth place at the 1000 m mark, in fourth at the 1500 m mark, and then sprinted as the line approached to take first for the victory, with a last quarter of 1:33.[30][32][33] They won with a time of 6 minutes, 31.67 seconds.[23] They finished ahead of Italy's Alessio Sartori and Romano Battisti by 1.13 seconds, and Slovenian 2000 Olympic champions and 2004 silver medalists Luka Špik and Iztok Čop came in third.[23] Cohen became the first person from Southland to win an Olympic medal for New Zealand.[34] Cohen and Sullivan were awarded a Halberg Award for "New Zealand's Favourite Sporting Moment".[35]

Cohen also obtained a Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) from the University of Waikato in 2012.[36]

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Cohen was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rowing.[37] Later that year he won the New Zealand national single sculls title at the 2013 New Zealand National Rowing Championships, again at Lake Ruataniwha, in a time of 6:57.76.[2][38] He also won the New Zealand Male Rower of the Year Award.[39]

Cohen began rowing the quadruple scull in 2013. His crew won a silver medal at the Sydney World Cup regatta.[2]

During training in April 2013, Cohen suffered an irregular heartbeat, later diagnosed as supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).[40][41][42] That August, he withdrew from the World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea, due to a recurrence of the problem during preliminary heats.[40][43][44] In December 2013, he announced his retirement from the sport due to this medical condition.[45]

He later started competing again. At the 2017 New Zealand rowing nationals at Lake Ruataniwha, he partnered with his brother Hayden for the men's double sculls, where they came sixth in the men's premier double sculls, with limited training. The brothers teamed up to win the senior men's doubles sculls and the men's senior quad sculls. Cohen then went on to win the senior men's single also.[46] In 2019 he competed in the fours with his brother Hayden, Joe Findlay and Italian Daniele Danesin.[47]

References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nathan Cohen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Nathan Cohen". Rowing New Zealand. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  3. ^ "South staying home for Olympics". The Southland Times. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  4. ^ Andrew Alderson (24 February 2013). "Rowing: Cohens star in latest show". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Double sculls gelling nicely". Stuff.co.nz. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Hayden Cohen". Rowing New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  7. ^ Marc Hinton (3 August 2012). "Finishing power wins gold for double scullers". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Nathan Cohen". RowingOne.com. World Rowing. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ a b "World and Olympic Championship Racing Shells • Nathan Cohen/NZL". Hudson Boat Works. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Hargest pupil wins boys U18 single sculls at secondary schools champs". The Southland Times. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Olympic hopeful puts in the hard yards". The Southland Times. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Cohen wins bronze in US". The Southland Times. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  13. ^ Sarah Hamilton (22 May 2013). "Olympian Cohen takes top honour". The Southland Times. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Student oarsman takes gold". TVNZ. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Rowers Win Gold And Bronze At World Uni Champs". University Rowing New Zealand. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Highest Number Of Blues Awarded For 57 Years". Scoop News. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Anna Richards Awarded Universities Supreme Title". Scoop News. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Cohen into rowing quarters". The Southland Times. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Cohen, Trott wait on Waddell". Stuff.co.nz. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  20. ^ "Rowing at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games: Men's Double Sculls | Olympics". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  21. ^ a b c Logan Savory (21 March 2012). "Rower Nathan Cohen has eye on Olympic prize". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  22. ^ a b Ian Anderson (27 December 2011). "Rowing duo Cohen, Sullivan eye London Olympics". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  23. ^ a b c d "Jewish rower from New Zealand wins Olympic gold". Haaretz. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  24. ^ a b Logan Savory (21 February 2011). "Nathan Cohen stays grounded after win". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  25. ^ Stu Piddington (20 February 2011). "Mahe Drysdale offers no excuses for loss". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  26. ^ Toby Pascoe (16 February 2011). "Southland clubs dominate at rowing nationals". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  27. ^ Logan Savory (21 February 2011). "Nathan Cohen stays grounded after win". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  28. ^ "Silver Fern, world rowing champ win top Waikato University Blues Awards". University of Waikato. 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  29. ^ "Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand win Olympic rowing gold in men's double sculls". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2012.[dead link‍]
  30. ^ a b "Rowing at the 2012 London Summer Games: Men's Double Sculls | Olympics". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  31. ^ "London Games 2012: NZ rowers set records on strong opening day". Radio New Zealand. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  32. ^ "World Rowing – Official Website". World Rowing. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  33. ^ "Rowing: Heart problem forces Cohen's withdrawl [sic] from summer training". NZ Herald News. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  34. ^ "Kiwi double scullers claim Olympic gold medal". The Southland Times. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  35. ^ "50th Westpac Halberg Awards Finalists". Halberg Disability Sport Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  36. ^ "Waikato alumni named in New Year Honours List – Alumni: University of Waikato". Alumni.waikato.ac.nz. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  37. ^ "New Year honours list 2013". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  38. ^ "Finals day of the 2013 BankLink New Zealand Rowing Championships". Rowing New Zealand. 23 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  39. ^ Jacob Page (25 February 2013). "Rowing: Cohen made to work for sculling crown". Timaru Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  40. ^ a b "Heart trouble rules Cohen out of rowing World Champs". TVNZ. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  41. ^ Ian Anderson (11 September 2013). "Rowing NZ swings axe; Nathan Cohen pulls out". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  42. ^ "Rowing: Cohen still looking at long-term options Yahoo! New Zealand Sport". Yahoo!. 16 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  43. ^ Ian Anderson (27 August 2013). "Rowing | Bad day for New Zealand crews". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  44. ^ "Heart problems force Olympic champion out of world champs". Radio New Zealand. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  45. ^ "Rowing: Olympic gold sculler forced to call it quits". The New Zealand Herald. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  46. ^ "Dunham stakes claim at nationals". The Press. 18 February 2017. p. D4. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  47. ^ "Fours rowing combination resume after 30-year break". 13 June 2019.
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