New Zealand's Road to Rio: 10-16 May 2016

Walsh begins Diamond season with silver



Shot putter Tom Walsh has opened the Diamond League season with a silver medal in Shanghai.



Rio-bound Walsh produced a solid opening throw of 20.79m to lead after round one, but was knocked back to third when American Kurt Roberts surprised the field by coming from nowhere to take the lead with a 21.40m throw.



Walsh responded with a final attempt of 21.20m which secured second overall. 

Robertson fourth in Central Park 10km classic

Zane Robertson has finished fourth in the UAE Healthy Kidney 10km race in New York, in his first race since his selection to run the 10,000m at Rio 2016.

From the start of the race through Central Park, Robertson headed the charge out in front and had a healthy battle with Kenyans Lucas Rotich and Wilson Chebet and Ethiopian Teshome Mekonen. 

 Robertson slipped off the searing pace, finishing fourth in 29:02. Rotich, a marathoner, won in 28:29, breaking away from Chebet in the final mile.  He dedicated the race win to his newborn son.

Kiwis fly into top 10 of Yokohama Tri



Kiwi triathletes Andrea Hewitt and Ryan Sissons have finished in the top 10 of the latest world triathlon event in Yokohama.



Hewitt continued her strong early season form to finish fourth in the women’s race, 13s behind winner American Gwen Jorgensen.

Of the other New Zealanders, Simone Ackermann was 19th and Rebecca Spence 21st, while Nicky Samuels withdrew early in the run leg. 



Rio hopeful Sissons finished ninth in the men’s race, after making a good start in the swim leg. Fellow Kiwi Tony Dodds was 28th.

Jones out of BMX Worlds with injured shoulder



New Zealand's leading men's BMX rider Trent Jones will miss this month's world championships with an injured shoulder.



Jones is still recovering from a heavy crash in the quarterfinals of last week’s UCI Supercross World Cup in the Netherlands, and has decided to withdraw from the worlds in Colombia on May 28.

However, his chances of qualifying for Rio should not be affected by his decision to rest, as he is still the top ranked New Zealand rider at No. 9 in the world.



Three other New Zealanders will contest the world championships – Olympic silver medallist Sarah Walker, Matt Cameron and debutant Michael Bias. 

Gymnasts make history on way to Rio

New Zealand’s triumvirate of Olympic gymnastics has notched up a series of historic achievements even before heading to Rio.

Women’s gymnast Courtney McGregor, men’s gymnast Misha Koudinov and trampolinist Dylan Schmidt make up the largest gymnastic contingent to represent New Zealand in over 50 years.

All three first-time Olympians have also made history as the first New Zealand trio to compete in three different gymnastics disciplines at an Olympic Games, and the first to qualify directly through the international quota system. Schmidt ticks another historic box, becoming New Zealand's first ever trampoline athlete to compete at an Olympic Games. 

Junior and Meech triumph in dinghy battle



Sailors Josh Junior and Sam Meech have been added to the New Zealand Olympic team for Rio after intense battles for their dinghy spots.



Junior will make his Olympic debut in the Finn heavyweight dinghy, while Meech – also a first-time Olympian – will sail the lightweight Laser dinghy.

Meech’s sister Molly is also a member of the New Zealand sailing team, racing in Rio in the 49erFX skiff.

New Zealand will be represented in all five double-handed Olympic events and in both men’s single-handed events.

Cycling heroes Roulston and van Velthooven grab final chance

Olympic medallists Hayden Roulston and Simon van Velthooven will have a final chance to propel their way into the New Zealand track cycling team for Rio after being chosen in the 21-rider squad to train and race in Europe and the United States in the Olympic build-up.

Roulston, who won bronze and silver in Beijing 2008, is aiming to make the team pursuit line-up, while van Velthooven – bronze medallist in the keirin in London 2012 – will be duelling with world kilo bronze medallist Matt Archibald for the second keirin berth.

Seven men and seven women have been selected in the endurance squads to train overseas, bidding for Olympic pursuit spots.

Ferns shake it out with Matildas before Rio



The Football Ferns will have a final hit-out before the Rio Olympic Games with two matches against their Australian rivals, the Matildas.



Ferns coach Tony Readings says the quick-fire games against the fifth-ranked Australians in a fortnight’s time will give his side a good benchmark of where they’re at before heading to the Olympic Games.



It will also give players a chance to push for their place in the Ferns for Rio.



Meanwhile, the Fern’s outstanding goalkeeper Erin Nayler has secured a contract with the Sky Blue FC side in the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States.

NZ Sevens in Paris

The All Blacks Sevens have struggled in their latest World Sevens series tournament, losing the plate semi-final to South Africa, 29-19, in Paris. 

The New Zealand men were knocked out of title contention when they were beaten 19-17 by Argentina in the quarterfinals after the Pumas scored two late tries. In the final Samoa stunned Fiji, coming back from 26-7 down, to win 29-26.

With one round to go in London next weekend, New Zealand's third in the standings behind South Africa and Fiji.

This Week's Be the Inspiration video: Natasha Hansen

Last Chance Ticket Sales for Rio 2016

It is not too late to get to Rio to support our Olympic team!

New Zealand Olympic Travel, the only Authorised Ticket Resellers for New Zealand residents, have a range of prime tickets on live sale. This is the final allocation of tickets for NZ residents and includes high demand tickets to Athletics, Track Cycling, Swimming and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies!

Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see our Olympians in action as they compete to make history in Rio this August!

Accommodation options and flights are also still available.

Register now at www.nzolympictravel.co.nz to receive your unique link to purchase tickets.

Simon Child Experiences the Volkswagen Golf GTI

With training in full swing for the Rio Games, Volkswagen NZ got Simon Child, their ambassador and New Zealand Hockey player into the Golf GTI to make getting to his hockey practice a breeze.

Experience the Golf Performance models today – visit the range here.