Triple Olympic champion Hamish Bond retires from rowing

Triple Olympic gold medal winner Hamish Bond has announced he's retiring from rowing.

With Eric Murray he won gold in the coxless pair at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and then joined the eights as they claimed a stunning gold at last year's Tokyo Games.

In between golds two and three, he won a bronze medal in the cycling time trial at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Bond, 35, also an eight-time world champion, said it was the right time.

“It does feel strange saying that I’m retiring but I feel very fortunate to be walking away while at the top of the sport,” said Bond.

“Rowing for the bulk of my career has defined me as a person, I now have my family and other priorities and it feels like the right move to make.”

Together with Murray, the pair went 69 races unbeaten, a streak that saw them win two Olympic golds and seven world titles.

They won the supreme Halberg award twice, and last year were named Halberg decade champions.

Bond told 1News at his retirement press conference Thursday afternoon he had nothing left he wanted to achieve in sport.

"I don't feel the need to compete at that level anymore," he said.

"I've scratched that itch and I've been very fortunate to have some great teammates and basically more success than I ever thought when I started out in the sport."

New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith said Bond departs having been a leader on and off the water.

"He’s been an inspiration to young athletes all around the country and he’s embodied the values of the New Zealand Team," New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith said.

“His drive and determination have been second to none. Hamish is a true Olympic great and his legacy and place in New Zealand’s sporting history is well and truly entrenched. We wish him all the best for his next chapter.”

He said he was looking forward to spending more time with wife Lizzie and children Finlay, Imogen and Phoebe.