Hamish Bond has hung up his oar. 

After an illustrious career of well over a decade, the 35-year-old has announced his retirement from rowing. 

Bond made his mark on the rowing world in 2007, claiming a gold medal as part of the coxless four at the world championships in Munich. The quartet claimed the Team of the Year honours at the 2007 Halberg Awards. Bond got his first taste of the Olympics Games in 2008, with the four winning the B Final. 

In 2009, Bond teamed up with Eric Murray to compete in the men's pair, which was the start of a special partnership on the water. In the pair, Bond and Murray won seven world championship gold medals in six years – winning both the coxed and coxless pair in 2014. 

The pair also won back-to-back Olympic Gold medals, claiming the title in London in 2012 before defending it in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. They were awarded the Thomas Keller Medal – rowing's highest honour – in 2018 for their spectacular career. 

As of 2021, the pair hold world best times in both the coxed and coxless pairs. 

Murray announced his retirement from the sport in 2017, and Bond revealed he would take a break from the sport to instead pursue a cycling career. 

But after finding success on the bike – with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal to go with bronze and gold Oceania Championships medals – Bond returned to the water in 2019 as part of the men's eight with the hopes of competing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. 

After failing to qualify initially, the men's eight earned their place at a last-chance regatta, before going on to shock many by upsetting Germany and Great Britain to claim the gold medal in Tokyo. It was only New Zealand's second gold in the men's rowing eight, with the first coming in Munich in 1972. 

The victory also saw Bond make history as New Zealand's first athlete to win a gold medal at three successive Games.