Olympic rowing gold medal contender Mahe Drysdale says his injured shoulder is in the best shape it's been since he damaged it in a cycling accident.
The five-time world single sculls champion gave the troublesome joint a decent workout on Saturday during a comfortable win in his heat at the London Games regatta at Eton Dorney in Buckinghamshire.
Drysdale hit the front early on and then pulled away, rowing for much of the journey on his own.
He finished in a time of 6min 49.69sec, more than 11s ahead of his closest pursuer, defending Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway.
Drysdale, who is next in action at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday, was happy with his performance.
He says he did everything he wanted and needed to, and he didn't have any problems with the shoulder as he made his way down the course.
"It didn't bother me and obviously in a big race like this the rating is up," he said.
"That was the best it has felt so far, so hopefully another week and it will really, really good."
He said the injury, which came from a collision with a car in Munich in mid-June, was improving all the time.
"We ice it down after each race," he said.
"It's just being careful when I get out of the boat. Lifting the boat above my head is the time I have the most problems."
NZN