The humble hero with the golden touch: Why Hamish Bond hung up the oars

Hamish Bond's athletic feats even translated to cycling, where he won bronze at the Commonwealth Games. Photo / Greg Bowker

When the end came, it was quintessential Hamish Bond.

Not only was he going out on top, but the triple Olympic champion signed off in his modest, understated way yesterday, after his retirement was announced earlier in the day.

The 35-year-old, one of only two New Zealanders to have claimed Olympic gold across three successive Games (alongside Lisa Carrington), was honoured at a function in Auckland.

After a couple of tributes, Bond took to the floor to reflect on his career.

At the end of a 12-minute speech, laced with humour, honesty, gratitude and anecdotes, he signed off.

"That's about it from me," smiled Bond. "I'm happy to fade away and become fish and chip paper in a few days."

There is no chance of that, given his impact on our sporting folklore. He'll be remembered as one of New Zealand's greatest Olympians and our finest rower.

But more than that, as a true ironman, who achieved his success through sheer force of will and mental grit, along with his outstanding physical capabilities, developed over two decades of grind.

He was the humble hero with the golden touch and a major catalyst in the staggering eights victory in Tokyo.

Bond's decision to hang up the oars was confirmed with that success, though had been on his mind for some time.

"Realistically, I knew in the lead up to Tokyo it was probably going to be my last dance," Bond told NZME. "I could feel the need and the will to train and to be an athlete was starting to wane."

The training wasn't an issue, more all the other commitments around it.

"There were several moments where it was like, 'Do I want this enough to keep going?' said Bond. "I guess I searched for someone to tell me to keep going."

That was his wife Lizzie, who offered vital reassurance and he remains eternally grateful, both to his spouse and his teammates.

New Zealand Rower Hamish Bond poses for a photo with his son Finlay Bond following his retirement announcement at the NZOC offices. Photo / Getty Images.

"I'm fortunate to walk away at the top of my game," said Bond. "I always dared to dream that we could have success in the eight. I knew that it added up on paper but to actually go to Tokyo and pull it off - it is one of the crowning achievements of my career."

Friday was a time for reflection. Bond recalled speaking with Fred Strachan recently, his first coach at Otago Boys High School, with the nonagenarian admitting he didn't "foresee that career" for his shy student.

"I was a later bloomer," laughed Bond, though being a "scrawny kid" only made him more determined to work hard.

Missing the final at the 2008 Olympics in the coxless four after winning world championship gold a year earlier was traumatic, but led to the wonderful union with Eric Murray.

"When a partnership's foundation is hard work and you never have to question the effort that someone to going to put in, it's a really easy, positive place to start," said Bond. "Next to each other, we thought we were the best."

The Kiwi pair achieved a staggering 69-race unbeaten streak across two Olympic cycles, highlighted by the emphatic triumphs in London and Rio, though it wasn't always straightforward.

They had to learn to be dominant frontrunners – "We really went 'okay, we respect our opposition, but it doesn't matter what you're doing'" – and also overcome inevitable moments of friction, while dealing with the pressure of maintaining the winning run.

"Eric is incredibly understanding and anything was water off a duck's back," said Bond. "Any issues that we had on the water stayed on the water and they were over pretty quickly."

Bond then managed a remarkable transition to cycling, with a 2018 Commonwealth Games time trial bronze but the decision to return to rowing was "pragmatic".

"The pull to have a go at the eight was still there," said Bond.

That will remain his signature achievement, as he adapted to a new boat, played a major part in some vital recruitment calls and built belief among the scratch crew.

"That [was] a step up," said Bond. "And that's kind of what I'd always done. Don't rest on your laurels; win a gold, win another, try a different sport. It always felt like what's the next step, rather than the easy route?"

The next chapter will have its own unique challenges, looking after their three young children as wife Lizzie returns to work.

"I'm certainly putting family first," said Bond. "Just trying to hold down the fort at home is my immediate future and I'm not in a hurry to dive into anything.

"We have almost four year old (Imogen), a two and a half year old (Phoebe) and a six month old (Finlay). So any free time is easily soaked up by them."

One day that trio will read about their father's accomplishments and likely have the same sense of awe and wonder as the rest of us.

"Just never put a limit on your dreams," said Bond, when asked for his advice to young athletes. "I never in my wildest aspirations thought that I would have achieved what I've been fortunate to achieve. Learn to persevere, learn to be dogged in your training. Not every day is sunshine and rainbows.

"There's days in endurance sport where you genuinely don't enjoy what you're doing. But they are the ultimate ingredients in the cake [and] the Olympic gold medal is sort of the icing. Yeah, you had to finish it off on race day, but the far harder thing was the four-year grind to get there."