Ling gained his first international experience at the
2012 World Rowing U23 Championships in
Trakai, Lithuania, where he finished eighth in the lightweight men's four. At the
2013 World Rowing U23 Championships in
Linz, Austria, he placed fourth in the lightweight men's single sculls. He progressed to the elite level in 2014, and at the
2014 World Rowing Championships in
Amsterdam, Netherlands, he competed in the lightweight men's double sculls with
Alistair Bond. They finished second in their semi-final race, but did not start in the final. In early 2015, Ling became national champion in the lightweight men's single sculls at
Lake Ruataniwha, defeating
Peter Taylor. At the
2015 World Rowing Championships in
Aiguebelette, France, he used what was described as "almost textbook-perfect race strategy" to win the A final, finishing ahead of
Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia and
Miloš Stanojević of Serbia. At the 2016 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in
Lucerne, Switzerland, Ling partnered with Toby Cunliffe-Steel in the lightweight men's double sculls. They needed to finish within the top three to qualify for the
2016 Summer Olympics, but placed sixth and thus missed out. At the 2017 New Zealand rowing nationals at
Lake Ruataniwha, he came second to Matthew Dunham in the premier lightweight singles. ==References==