Our rowing triumphs came as no surprise to seasoned campaigner

Hamish Bond, Mahe Drysdale and Eric Murray. Photo / Brett Phibbs

I am thrilled for this rowing team and for New Zealand. What an outstanding bunch of results. It really is such a positive thing.

I'm not surprised because the results have obviously been good at championships over the past few years, leading up to these Olympics. If anything, I'm pleased the results have built up and been completed by these Games.

It's important to bear in mind that results at world champs are great but everything tightens up a bit more at the Olympics. Athletes who have been training part-time while maintaining jobs will drop their work obligations and train full-time leading up to the Olympics.

With the world champs, too, there's always next year if you don't get the results. With the Olympics, everybody tries that much harder.

This is the first time I've watched the Olympics at home since 1996 and it's been a strange feeling. Now I'm really enjoying the spectacle it's been. I've been able to sit back and just enjoy the level of skill and hard work. I'll always miss being there - I guess that's in any competitor's nature.

I put New Zealand's continued rowing success down to three things: one, we've got a good national training centre with a long stretch of water to go a long way and train in the Lydiard style for longer distances; two, all the athletes train together at the same time and place so, if you're a good rower, you can compare yourself directly with the likes of Mahe Drysdale.

The third factor is how hard they train. I think their work ethic is phenomenal. It's a tough lifestyle they lead and they train harder than any rowers I've ever heard of.

I'm confident New Zealand can go on producing rowers for years to come. The numbers are growing, the groundswell is still rising and people will continue to do well.

Rob Waddell won gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He had keyhole heart surgery in 2009 and is now a grinder with the Emirates Team New Zealand yachting syndicate.