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Story: Olympic and Commonwealth games

Rob Waddell, Sydney, 2000

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Rob Waddell, Sydney, 2000

Rob Waddell celebrates after winning the single-sculls final at Penrith Lakes during the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Waddell won New Zealand's only gold medal at Sydney. His victory was clear-cut, as he crossed the line 8 metres ahead of second-placegetter Xeno Muller of Switzerland. Waddell's achievement was particularly significant as in 1995 he discovered that he suffered from a heart condition, atrial fibrillation.

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New Zealand Olympic Museum – He Pataka Taumahekeheke, New Zealand Olympic Committee

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How to cite this page

Joseph Romanos, Olympic and Commonwealth games – The early 21st century at the Olympics, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/37918/rob-waddell-sydney-2000 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Joseph Romanos, published 14 November 2012, updated 1 June 2023.