Eric Verdonk

Verdonk began rowing at Westlake Boys High School in Forrest Hill, Auckland. In 1976, he won the Maadi Cup.[2] He was a member of the North Shore Rowing Club,[3] joining the club in 1973.[4]

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Verdonk won a bronze medal in the single sculls;[3][5] the race was won by Steve Redgrave.[4] He also came fourth in the double sculls event at the Games.[4] At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Verdonk competed in the single sculls. He won his heat, came third in his semi-final,[4] and finished third in the final[3][5] behind Thomas Lange and Peter-Michael Kolbe.[4] At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Verdonk finished fourth,[3] and at one point in the race was 0.62 seconds behind Pole Kajetan Broniewski, who finished third.[6]

In total, he competed at five World Rowing Championships,[7] and his best result was third, at the 1990 in Tasmania, Australia. [8] Verdonk was sixth in the single sculls at the 1987 World Rowing Championships in Copenhagen,[4] and was fifth in the single sculls at the 1991 World Rowing Championships in Vienna.[6]

In 1994, Verdonk won the double sculls event at the Commonwealth Championships in Ontario, Canada, and finished second in the quad scull event.[8] Verdonk also won a single sculls event at the Henley Royal Regatta,[3] becoming the first New Zealander to win the event.[5] Another year, Verdonk came second in the single sculls event at the Henley Royal Regatta.[3] He won seven consecutive New Zealand single skulls national championships between 1987 and 1993. He won six New Zealand double skulls national championships, with four different partners.[4]

Following his retirement, Verdonk worked for Waitakere Sports Association,[2] and from 2017, Verdonk was the head coach at Takapuna Grammar School Rowing Club In March 2020, the club made him a lifetime member. [5] Also in 2020, the New Zealand Rowing Foundation awarded Verdonk a legacy medal for his contributions to rowing in New Zealand.[7]

Verdonk was born in Taihape, New Zealand to Dutch parents, and his native language was Dutch.[4] He was married and had a son and a daughter.[3]

Verdonk died of cancer on 3 April 2020 in Auckland, at the age of 60.[3]