Rowing star joins Team NZ

Olympic gold medallist Rob Waddell has bulked up to beat other top athletes to a grinding job in the America's Cup

New Zealand's own version of Steve Redgrave, Rob Waddell, has beaten 40 other applicants to secure a grinding position on Team New Zealand for the America's Cup, according to a report from the New Zealand Herald.
The Olympic rowing gold medallist has added 14 kg of muscle to his two metre frame, and he is now the biggest member of the sailing squad at 115 kg. He has been working hard on adding bulk to his upper body, but pulled a back ligament during weight training which nearly counted him out of the final trial altogether.

"I was really worried that I wasn't going to make it - I couldn't grind for three weeks," said the 26-year-old. "But now I'm just thrilled. I can't wait to go racing."

He spent almost two months working out to alter his physique. "In rowing it's all legs and no chest, now it's all chest and no legs," Waddell said. "This is a real baptism of fire. The first day I went out I had no idea the grinder's handles moved so quickly and I couldn't keep up. I felt totally out of control, just like I did when I was a kid trying rowing for the first time."

Waddell plans to return to rowing once the Cup is over in early 2003, when he will start working towards the 2004 Olympics in Athens.