Sports – 𝓔𝓾𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭

Talented teen heads Auckland Squash Open draw

16May

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Sports

Talented teen heads Auckland Squash Open draw

Young talent highlights the 2025 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Squash Open with a couple of New Zealand's best teenage players taking further steps into their professional careers. Top seed at the PSA Challenger tournament which runs Thursday 22 - Sunday 25 May is 18-year-old Ollie Dunbar from Wellington who has had an amazing 2025 already. Currently ranked at 145 in the world Dunbar recently won the Australian and New Zealand junior titles. He was a semifinalist at the professional World Championship qualifying event plus reached the second round at the 2025 New Zealand Open after beating world No54 Rui Soares of Portugal. There was also a title at the Scottish Junior U19 Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the British Junior U19 Open as well. Dunbar, who is coached by former Auc...

Athletes’ injury risk altered by menstrual cycle, research indicates

14May

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Health, Sports

Athletes’ injury risk altered by menstrual cycle, research indicates

Canadian coxswain Kristen Kit has had a long, successful career competing for Canada in the women's eight boat, winning two Olympic medals in the process.But in all her years on the national team, Kit has never taken a day off for her menstrual cramps."Never, in my 16 years," she said in an interview with CBC Sports. "I don't think I've ever known when anyone on my team, myself included, took a practice off or took a day off for cramps."For some, menstrual cramps can feel like intense throbbing in the lower abdomen and pain that radiates to your lower back and thighs, but recent research from the University of Vigo in Pontevedra, Spain has found that a female athlete's hormonal changes could also lead to potential injuries."I am mind blown by this," Kit said. "For Olympic athletes, why do ...

4-time Olympic medallist Adam van Koeverden to oversee sport in PM Carney’s new cabinet

13May

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Health, Sports

4-time Olympic medallist Adam van Koeverden to oversee sport in PM Carney’s new cabinet

Canadian kayak legend Adam van Koeverden, who recently was elected to a third term as a Member of Parliament, was named Secretary of State for Sport on Tuesday in Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet.A Toronto native who was raised in nearby Oakville, Ont., the 43-year-old van Koeverden was sworn in at Rideau Hall in Ottawa along with 28 ministers and nine other secretaries of state.Van Koeverden was first elected to the House of Commons in 2019 and was re-elected for a second time on April 28 in the Burlington North-Milton West riding (formerly Milton) by 5,983 votes. Van Koeverden is a four-time medallist at the Summer Games in sprint kayak, winning gold and bronze at his first Olympics in Athens in 2004, and following up with silver medals at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. He e...

Tom Saunders wins silver in first major regatta since Olympics

27Apr

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Sports

Tom Saunders wins silver in first major regatta since Olympics

Tom Saunders celebrated his return to the world stage with New Zealand’s second medal of the short international sailing season, claiming silver in his first major regatta since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.The 32-year-old Tauranga sailor won silver in the ILCA 7 (formerly Laser) at the French Olympic Week in Hyères overnight, climbing to second overall with an impressive third-place finish in the double-points medal race.It was his first international competition since finishing seventh in his Olympic debut in Marseille last August, having taken a break from racing.Saunders enjoyed a consistent week, handling various conditions - from very light breezes to the famed Mistral, which blew at over 25 knots across the Bay of Hyères.He finished inside the top 10 in six of the nine qualifying ra...

4Mar

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Sports

Porirua Grand Traverse hits milestone

Michael Jacques is far too busy to think about popping champagne to mark a significant birthday for one of the region’s most popular multisport events. When first run in 2006, Porirua Grand Traverse (PGT) had 240 participants testing themselves over, in and around Porirua’s hills, forests, coastlines and waterways. By 2020 the numbers had swelled to more than 1000. Twenty years after its first iteration, PGT has gone from being a major challenge for serious multisporters to a true festival of fitness and a major community occasion, says current event manager Michael Jacques. "Porirua Grand Traverse was founded by a group of people who thought the city’s awesome outdoor resources would be a perfect way to showcase the region and encourage locals to explore their back yard," he says. "Wi...

2025 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland winners named on frenetic final day

2Mar

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Sports

2025 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland winners named on frenetic final day

Plenty of hard work and a touch of Olympic inspiration has propelled one of New Zealand's most promising double-handed crews to success at the country's premier domestic sailing event. Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have now joined an impressive list of sailors to have won the 49er title at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, with the young duo delivering a masterclass in consistency over three days at Torbay. The regatta concluded on a thrilling note, with titles in several classes only decided in the final race but while some sailors faced last-minute battles for victory, Menzies and Rush had all but secured their title before pushing off Waiake Beach on Sunday. The pair, who won the 49erFX junior world championships in 2022, claimed four race wins and finished outside the top three only once...

Hayden Wilde wins season-opening thriller in Abu Dhabi

15Feb

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Hayden Wilde wins season-opening thriller in Abu Dhabi

It had been a long period of acclimatization in the UAE leading up to the race, and Hayden Wilde was able to banish mixed memories of WTCS Abu Dhabi to take a scintillating sprint finish over Australia’s Matt Hauser. Wilde had to claw back 30 seconds out of the water and he did so in style, reeling in the leaders and then even skewering the field late on in a three-man breakaway that didn’t quite stick. The legs were still very much there to shake off first Vasco Vilaça then Hauser to take the gold. 'I just went out there and had a bit of fun, you know,' said a delighted WIlde. 'I feel like this is my second home, I've been here for about three or four weeks and, you know, they just welcomed me in with open arms and I've just been loving it here. I got a breakaway with my breakaway mate ...

Mouldey and Mateja Capitalise on Miniscule Whangamata Waves

9Feb

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Sports

Mouldey and Mateja Capitalise on Miniscule Whangamata Waves

It was a tough outing at Whangamata this weekend for the second three events on the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge with the forecasted swell getting pushed out, leaving New Zealand’s top junior talent battling it out in small 0.5m waves.The conditions might not have cooperated but the participants made the best of the waves with Mount Maunganui surfer Tao Mouldey snatching victory from Australian based Macka Hazard to claim his second win of the season while Raglan’s Maya Mateja went back-to-back in the Under 18 Girls Division showing her class despite the small conditions.By way of Mateja’s win along with Alani Morse and Luca Thompson in the Under 16s plus Jimmy Wernham in the Under 14 Boys, Point Boardriders of Raglan claimed the overall top club for the event.Mouldey was...

One NZ GODZONE Returns to New Zealand’s Adventure Racing Calendar

4Feb

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One NZ GODZONE Returns to New Zealand’s Adventure Racing Calendar

A new adventure racing charitable trust led by high-profile sportsperson Richie McCaw announces the return of One NZ GODZONE, the world’s largest expedition race. New Zealand's preeminent expedition adventure race, One NZ GODZONE, is back on the sporting calendar after a two-year hiatus with the formation of the Pure Adventure Charitable Trust to host the iconic eight-day event in the next 12 months. A group of high-profile sportspeople and past One NZ GODZONE competitors have instigated PACT which will be a registered charitable entity. This includes former All Black champion Richie McCaw, current New Zealand Rugby Players Association CEO Rob Nichol, world champion adventure racer Sophie Hart, One NZ GODZONE race director Adam Fairmaid, triathlete Michele Frey, AWS Legal lawyer and repr...

Heart-Stopping Finale to World Cup Final

19Jan

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Sports

Heart-Stopping Finale to World Cup Final

It couldn’t have been closer in the FEI World Cup (NZ League) Series final but finally – after a heart-stopping countback – Julie Davey can claim the nation’s top international crown. The Hastings showjumper led coming into the Archibald & Shorter North Shore World Cup Final at the Show Jumping Waitemata hosted show, but it was tight and turned into a three horse race between Julie, Luke Dee (Havelock North) and Sophie Scott (Palmerston North). Five came back for the second round where only Sophie aboard Benrose Stellar were clear. Behind her Julie, Luke with Gangster WW and Sophie with her second mount Waitangi Skynet all carried four faults. In the second, a double clear from Sophie and Stellar claimed the final for the second time, while Julie cemented the series going clear aboa...