The hard work of Olympic champion and five-time World champion rower Mahe Drysdale will be put into practice this month when the former Tauranga resident makes a bid to win his second consecutive gold medal in the single scull rowing event.

If he wins gold in Rio it will make him the eldest in 116 years to win the single sculls title at 37 years old.

Mahe Drysdale with his medal four years ago.

While Mahe's height and athleticism paint him as a born sportsman, the former Tauranga Boys' College student's rise to rowing royalty has not been without hard graft and sacrifice.

Mahe is the Olympics ambassador for Powerade, the official sports drink of the 2016 Olympic Games, which begins with the opening ceremony at 11am NZ time tomorrow and runs until August 21.

Mahe says rowing didn't come calling until he was in his early 20s, making him a relatively late starter by Olympic standards.

'I first decided to give rowing a crack while I was at university studying to be an accountant, albeit unsuccessfully coming in second to last and missing another race entirely.

'I stuck it out because I enjoyed it and I knew that if I worked hard enough I could make a go of it,” says Mahe.

'You hear about these biomechanically-gifted athletes, like Michael Phelps who has a massive wingspan and feet like flippers, but without hard work and the right attitude he would be no different to anyone else.”

Mahe says the right nutrition has played a large part in his success so far.

'I quickly realised that if I wanted to compete at the top level, the training was one thing, but I also needed to be fuelling my body with the right stuff.

'Pies and chips weren't going to get me a gold medal. I also needed to look at how I was hydrating.

'The amount of time spent out in the boat means I lose a lot of fluid through sweat.

'It is important for me to replenish that with carbohydrate and electrolytes that are in balance with my body's natural fluids and give me the energy to keep going.

'If it tastes good it's even easier to get it down quickly and that's where Powerade comes in,” says Mahe.

'We could be getting some pretty warm days in Rio which makes hydration even more important.

'Most of us have had bad race-day experiences where we haven't kept up our fluids.

'The headaches, the fatigue and the slowness mean there's no way you can perform at your best.”

To celebrate 24 years of Powerade as the official sports drink of the most viewed sports event in the world, it's released a limited edition Rio Gold flavour.

Want to keep up with what is happening at the Olympics. Check out the Rio Olympics Guide on SunLive to see what events are happening when.