Equestrian
Jonelle Price has added another top trophy to the cabinet, winning the Magic Millions British Open Championship CCI4*-S aboard her 2018 Badminton winner Classic Moet.
The Kiwi eventer was delighted with the efforts of the 16-year-old black British bred mare she co-owns.
“It is the quintessential British event and I have never won here before,” she said.
“It is Classic Moet’s cup of tea and is really vital Burghley preparation for us. Obviously, I have had a bit of a quiet year with her so I am just delighted to have her here, to put in such a good performance over all three phases and to have the win.”
Jonelle is now eyeing the prestigious Burghley Horse Trials next month.
“It is just fantastic to have her here – she looks a picture of health and is obviously feeling very well.
“Hopefully, this really ticks the box in terms of our Burghley prep so we can consolidate from here and line up there in a month’s time.”
Jonelle and Classic Moet were eighth after the dressage and slipped to ninth after taking a rail in the showjumping but their brilliance shone in the cross country to finish on 35.6 penalties. The result saw them take both the one day crown and the £10,000 winner’s purse. In second place was Ben Hobday (GBR) aboard Shadow Man II on 37.8 and Nicholas Lacey (GBR) on Proud Courage rounded out the top three.
Canoe Sprint
Kiwi Kurtis Imrie produced a herculean effort on the final day of the 2019 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Romania to grab an outstanding U23 K1 500m bronze.
Racing four times in a little under four hours on the Arges River, Imrie summoned the energy to clinch New Zealand’s maiden medal of the regatta.
Competing in the final the Mana paddler was rewarded with for a typically aggressive but well-judged effort.
The 23-year-old rocketed out of the start to establish an early advantage and hit the 250m mark with a 0.40s lead over German Jakob Thordsen.
In the second half of the race the powerful German took control of the race, but Imrie would not be denied a podium spot.
In the final sprint for the line, the Kiwi, whose elder sister Kayla is part of the New Zealand women’s elite open squad, conceded gold to Thordsen (1:47.247) and silver to the Dane Rasmus Knudsen (1:47.983) but finished almost half a second clear of the remainder in 1:48.575 for bronze.
Read more on canoeracing.org.nz
Canoe Slalom
Rio silver medallist Luuka Jones has taken silver in the K1 at the Prague World Raking Race.
“Not my finest racing today, but happy with second place in K1,” Jones posted on Instagram.
“Thanks to the race organisers and gate judges, with so many entries it was an impressive race to be a part of. Off to Spain tomorrow for the next camp!”
Basketball
The Tall Blacks squad to tour Japan and continue preparation for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup has been named.
The 14 will travel to take part in a 9-day camp in Japan, including two games against their hosts, before then heading to Sydney to take on Canada.
The team is led by veterans in the likes of Tom Abercrombie playing his third World Cup, while Jarrod Kenny, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Alex Pledger, Rob Loe and Isaac Fotu are all attending their second World Cup tournament.
Finn Delany, Shea Ili, Jordan Ngatai, Tohi Smith-Milner and Ethan Rusbatch have featured heavily for the Tall Blacks and New Zealand Select over the past four years as the programme under Henare went about building depth across all positions.
Henare is delighted with the balance and depth in the roster.
“We believe we have a balanced group of players, a group that is young in age but long in experience and understands the pressure we will face in the weeks ahead and the opportunity that is in front of them. Our focus is now solely on being ready to face Brazil on September 1st, we have a lot of work to do but can’t wait.”
Read more on nz.basketball
Triathlon
Nicole van der Kaay has claimed a resounding win in the Super League Triathlon leg in Ottawa, Canada.
On Instagram van der Kaay posted “Today’s race format was Endro which comprises of swim-bike-run x 3 non-stop. I had a lot of fun with this unique type of racing!”
Van deer Kaay heads to Japan shortly for an Olympic Test Event series.
Football
The New Zealand U-23 men will receive the ideal preparation for their bid to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by taking on their counterparts from Australia in a pair of matches next month.
Des Buckingham’s side will meet the Australia U-23s in two games in New South Wales, shortly before heading to Fiji for the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Read more on nzfootball.co.nz
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