 Verdonk in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eric Franciscus Maria Verdonk[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1959-05-28)28 May 1959 Taihape, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 3 April 2020 (2020-04-04) (aged 60) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Eric Franciscus Maria Verdonk (28 May 1959 – 3 April 2020) was a New Zealandrower who won bronze medals in thesingle sculls events at the1988 Summer Olympics,1986 Commonwealth Games, and1990 World Rowing Championships.
Verdonk began rowing atWestlake Boys High School inForrest Hill,Auckland. In 1976, he won theMaadi Cup.[2] He was a member of theNorth Shore Rowing Club,[3] joining the club in 1973.[4]
At the1986 Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh, Verdonk won a bronze medal in thesingle sculls;[3][5] the race was won bySteve Redgrave.[4] He also came fourth in thedouble sculls event at the Games.[4]At the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, 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] behindThomas Lange andPeter-Michael Kolbe.[4] At the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Verdonk finished fourth,[3] and at one point in the race was 0.62 seconds behind PoleKajetan Broniewski, who finished third.[6]
In total, he competed at fiveWorld Rowing Championships,[7] and his best result was third, at the1990 inTasmania, Australia.[8] Verdonk was sixth in the single sculls at the1987 World Rowing Championships inCopenhagen,[4] and was fifth in the single sculls at the1991 World Rowing Championships inVienna.[6]
In 1994, Verdonk won thedouble sculls event at the Commonwealth Championships inOntario, Canada, and finished second in thequad scull event.[8] Verdonk also won theDiamond Challenge Sculls (the premier singles sculls event) at theHenley 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 forWaitakere 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, theNew Zealand Rowing Foundation awarded Verdonk a legacy medal for his contributions to rowing in New Zealand.[7]
Verdonk was born inTaihape, 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 inAuckland, at the age of 60.[3]
