New Zealand's Road to Rio: 8- 14 March 2016

Double-handed sailors boost New Zealand Olympic Team to 42

New Zealand Olympic Team for Rio now stands at 42 athletes, with the addition of five double-handed sailing crews today.

Among the 10 sailors named are defending Olympic women’s 470 champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, and 2012 silver medallists and current 49er world champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Two crews will sail in events making debuts in Rio – Alex Maloney and Molly Meech in the women’s 49er, and Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders in the Nacra 17 mixed multihull. The team so far is rounded out by the men’s 470 pairing of Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox.

More Olympic sailing selections, in the single-handed disciplines, are expected over the coming months. 

New Zealand Sevens score searing victory in Vancouver

The All Blacks Sevens have won their third title of the 2016 World Series campaign, beating South Africa 19-14 in the final of the Vancouver Sevens this afternoon.

The New Zealanders – who’ve won in Wellington and Sydney this year – led 14-7 at halftime, courtesy of tries from Kurt Baker and Sam Dickson.  An outstanding defensive game from DJ Forbes and a second half try to Lewis Ormond sealed the victory.

After topping “the pool of death”, New Zealand – minus their Super Rugby stars - beat Samoa, 17-12, in the quarterfinals. Two-quick fire tries from Sione Molia with two minutes to go ensured a 28-19 semi-final win over Australia.

The New Zealanders are now third on the overall standings, one point behind South Africa, who trail Fiji by one. 

Junior feeling fine with fourth in Finn

Kiwi sailor Josh Junior hopes a fourth place at the Finn European championships in Barcelona this weekend will bolster his Olympic chances.

Junior, from Wellington’s Worser Bay Boating Club, had been lying second overall going into the final fleet race, but struggled in the light winds to finish 30th and slip out of medal contention.

Fellow NZL Sailing Team member Andrew Murdoch improved on the final day to be 19th overall. Both sailors will continue to race in Europe in their individual bids for Olympic selection. 

Black Sticks start intense year with series win

The Black Sticks men have opened their 2016 account with a home series victory over Malaysia.

Although the final test in Tauranga was a scoreless draw, the world No 8 New Zealanders won the series 2-1 over the competitive Malaysians. The only bad blow was an injury to defender Alex Shaw who has undergone surgery for a fractured cheekbone suffered in New Zealand’s 4-2 win midweek.

The two teams will meet again next month when the Black Sticks defend their title at the Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur. In the meantime, the New Zealanders begin a four-test series against South Korea in Auckland on Wednesday.

Football Ferns finish agonizing fourth in Portugal

The Football Ferns had a dramatic finish to their maiden appearance in the Algarve Cup women’s soccer tournament in Portugal, losing the play-off for third in a sudden-death penalty shoot-out.

The New Zealanders were 1-1 at the end of regular time in their match against Iceland, with Amber Hearn scoring her 50^th goal for New Zealand.

Both teams scored each of their five spot kicks in the shoot-out, before Anna Green’s sixth penalty was saved and Iceland scored. Canada won the tournament beating Brazil 2-1 in the final.

Sarah Walker back - and almost - on track for Rio

London Olympics silver medallist Sarah Walker is on the BMX comeback trail once again, after undergoing surgery on her arm.

After Walker’s latest setback - a double fracture during a fall in training last month – she now has set in place a plan to compete for an Olympic spot in Rio.

With two new metal plates and 15 more screws in her arm, she will spend around six weeks allowing the breaks to heal. But she is already back in the gym doing bodyweight and leg training, and hopes to be back on her bike in time for the world champs in Colombia in May. 

Patrick Bevin among the big guns in Paris-Nice cycle race

New Zealand road cycling champion Patrick Bevin had a strong start to the first big stage race of the European professional season, among the leaders for much of the eight-stage Paris-Nice race.

Bevin, riding for the Cannondale team, finished the prologue in third place and held on to his spot for a number of days. Fourth going into the penultimate stage, Bevin couldn’t hold on up the seven gruelling climbs and slipped back to 50th.  He did not start today’s final stage.

Fellow Kiwi rider George Bennett, starting for Dutch team Lotto NL Jumbo, was the best-placed New Zealander in the field, finishing 45th – 25 minutes behind the race winner, Commonwealth Games road race gold medallist Geraint Thomas of Great Britain.