NEW ZEALAND'S ROAD TO RIO - WEEKLY ROUND UP 29 SEP - 5 OCT

Lifter Patterson makes it a clean dozen

Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist Richie Patterson has won his 12th national title at the New Zealand weightlifting championships in Wellington over the weekend.

Patterson, who proved to be in top shape winning the mens 85kg division with a combined total of 320kg, qualified for the upcoming Australian Open and Oceania Championships and is closing in on his goal to qualify for his third Olympic Games.

Commonwealth bronze medallist Tracey Lambrechs, who is also aiming for Rio, showed she is on her way back from wrist surgery - equalling the national clean and jerk record of 137kg to win the womens 75kg plus title.

Black Sticks strike back

The Rio-bound womens Black Sticks have evened the score halfway through their four-match home series with world No. 3 Argentina, bouncing back from a narrow first-up 2-1 loss, to triumph 3-2 in a thrilling second test in Blenheim over the weekend.

Olivia Merrys drag-flick penalty corner conversion with four minutes left in the final quarter put the New Zealanders ahead, but they were forced to repel an Argentine attack in the final seconds to hold on for victory. The remaining two tests will be played in Nelson and Christchurch this week.

Meanwhile the Black Sticks men will play India in four tests at the same venues this week, in preparation for their Olympic qualifying showdown with Australia in Stratford later this month.

Boxers begin road to Rio

A determined team of four New Zealand boxers will fight it out at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha this week, a vital step towards the Rio Olympic Games.

Kiwi fighters Chad Milnes, Patrick Pakuliki Mailata and brothers David and Josh Nyika who qualified as Oceania medallists will be among 260 elite boxers competing from around the world. Its the first time a world boxing championship has served as a qualifying event for the Olympic Games, with 23 boxers set to qualify this week for Rio.

Rio hopefuls top Gymsports nationals

Gymnast David Bishop continues to build towards his goal of qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, collecting a string of medals in the mens artistic competition at the National Gymsports Championships in Auckland.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist on the floor won the all-round title before scooping gold in the pommel horse, vault and floor. Courtney McGregor, silver medallist at last years Pacific Rim championships, was again the top senior womens gymnast throughout the weekend.Kierran Tuhi, fresh from competing in the World Cup in Spain, won the mens trampoline title, with Dylan Schmidt fifth in Spain finishing third.

Eighteen new events floated

Street skateboard and short-board surfing are among 18 events vying for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Its the first time an organising committee has been given the opportunity to contribute to the design of the Olympic programme, and the focus of the new events is youth. The organising committee has put forward eight sports karate (kata and kumite), skateboarding (street and park), surfing, sports climbing, baseball and softball after receiving applications from 26 international sporting federations. A final decision will be made at the IOC session in August next year.

Rio rapids ready to roll

The Whitewater Stadium in Rio de Janeiros Deodoro Olympic Park has been unveiled as a veritable feat of modern engineering to be conquered by the worlds best canoe slalom specialists at next years Olympic Games.

The course, which uses a series of pumps and man-made obstacles to simulate a natural river, forms part of the X-Park of extreme sports, along with BMX and mountain biking. It will be put through its paces for the first time at an official test event next month, when 250 canoe athletes from 40 countries compete in the Rio 2016 dress rehearsal.