Rio in sight for Olympics quadruple sculler

Olympics quadruple sculler Michael Arms has unfinished business after returning from London without a medal.

Arms has a couple of months off before getting back into training, with a medal at the 2016 Rio Games in his sights.

“Although we came away without a medal, I feel a great sense of accomplishment, success and a desire to take what I have learnt from London and use this to try and dominate the next four years, to Rio,” he said.

After the break, Arms plans on heading to Cambridge to resume training in a high performance programme, with the 2013 World Champs as the next stepping stone.

“Rowing has a definite impact on the time available in your life. Most summer holidays are spent shedding sweat and blood on Lake Karapiro while my mates are away enjoying a beer on the beach. But I love what I do.”

Arms  has been rowing for around eight years, the last two in the New Zealand team.

He moved from the men’s eight in 2010, where he finished fifth in the rowing world championship final at Lake Karapiro.

In London, the quad won the B final to finish seventh overall.

Arms said crowd support made a big difference. Hearing New Zealanders in the grandstand roar as his crew approached the last 300m was a memorable moment, he said.

“It was surprisingly loud especially seeing as we were so far from home. It gave us that little bit extra we needed to push through the Russians and win the race.”

The London Olympic Village held up to 16,000 athletes and officials. Arms said it was great to rub shoulders with athletes from all over the world.

“I feel as though we constructed some of our best races over the week of racing at the Olympics.”

Back to the real world, Arms said the Waikato is his adopted home now, “I have to admit I prefer it to Auckland any day.”

Arms spent his primary and intermediate years running around in Hamilton, brought up on a small lifestyle block just outside of town, where he acquired a love for fitness and sports.

He is studying a bachelor of business majoring in sport management, extramurally through Massey University.

The London Olympics has been dubbed the ‘best Olympic performance since Seoul 1988’ by High Performance Sport New Zealand.

Arms said it was, “an inspiration to be part of one of the most successful New Zealand Olympic campaigns in history.”