Athletics
New Zealand’s athletes have claimed a staggering eight gold medals in the senior divisions at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville.
Hammer athlete Julia Ratcliffe was one of the standout performers, throwing 71.39m in the senior women’s hammer to claim gold and meet the entry standard for the 2019 Doha IAAF World Championships. The Oceania Champs was Julia’s first competition since her gold medal winning performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Gamea. The throw was also a new PB for the Commonwealth Champion and bettered both the Oceania Area, Oceania Championship and NZ records.
On the track Kiwi sprinters Zoe Hobbs and Eddie Osei-Nketia both claimed gold in their respective senior men’s and women’s 100m finals. Zoe's time of 11.56 was a new championship record, with the wins qualifying both sprinters for the World Champs.
Shot putter Maddi Wesche also took out the top spot on the dais, throwing 18.04m for a new Oceania Area Champs record.
In the men’s division Jacko Gill continued his return to form with a 20.75m effort for the gold.
High jumpers Josephine Reeves and Hamish Kerr also took gold. Reeves cleared 1.86m to set an Oceania Champs record while Kerr jumped 2.30 to equal the New Zealand men’s record.
Middle distance runner Oli Chignell rounded out the gold medallists, running a time of 14:07.17 in the men’s 5000m.
See a full list of New Zealand’s medal winners here.
Meanwhile Tom Walsh placed third with a throw of 21.76m at the Prefontaine Classic in the USA. Walsh was beaten by Olympic Champion Ryan Crouser who threw 22.17m and Brazilian Darlan Romani who threw 22.61m.
Lawn Bowls
The New Zealand Lawn Bowls team has won an impressive four gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the Asia Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast.
Shannon McIlroy completed a perfect campaign, winning the men’s singles title, six days after winning the men’s pairs with Gary Lawson.
“It’s not often you go through any event undefeated, let alone an international event. There are some amazing players here,” he said.
“It just goes to show me the work you put in, not just off the green but on the green as well, it can go a long way to having success.”
Above: The New Zealand Lawn Bowls Team
Jo Edwards again delivered in the crunch at Broadbeach, celebrating her 600th cap for New Zealand by winning the women’s singles.
Fourteen months on from winning gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Edwards secured her fifth Asia Pacific title beating Norfolk Island’s Carmen Anderson 21-6 in the final.
Rounding out the gold medals was Val Smith, Katelyn Inch, Kirsten Edwards and Wendy Jensen who outclassed Malaysia 17-6 in the final of the fours.
Yachting
Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn have won their first big international regatta, taking out the 49er class at Kiel Week in Germany.
The pair placed second in the top 10 showdown, giving them enough points to finish ahead of Poland's Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski, with James Peters and Fynn Sterritt of Great Britain third.
It was another good week for the New Zealand 49er squad with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke fifth and Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie 11th.
"The last two days were really stressful and I think everyone was up and down so it made for an interesting regatta," Gunn said.
"It was a pretty tricky week. The second half in gold fleet was pretty shifty. In qualifying we had some good breeze so kept the scorecard clean and held on to the end.
"It means a lot to win a big event and we're happy with it."
Above: Gunn and Dunning-Back
Burling and Tuke were particularly impressive in the early stages of the regatta. They had their chances in the medal race but had to settle for fifth.
"It was an awesome week of racing in Kiel," Tuke said on Instagram, "some of the best conditions we have raced in for a long time.
"Not the result we were after with fifth place but we didn't sail well enough at the business end to be at the front."
The 49er squad, like the rest of New Zealand's top Olympic class sailors, will now switch their attention to Japan for a training block and series of regattas as they familiarise themselves with the venue for next year's Tokyo Games.
Cycling
At the UCI Keirin Cup in Pennsylvania Eddie Dawkins ruled the day winning both the men’s Keirin Cup and setting a new track record for the Men’s Flying 500m with a blistering 26.357, breaking the previous record of 27.31 set in 1996.
Dawkins shared the Keirin Cup podium with Hersony Canelon of Venezuela in second and fellow Kiwi Sam Dakin in third.
New Zealand then swept the women’s podium with Ellesse Andrews etching her name onto the Cup, followed by fellow countrywomen Natasha Hansen and Olivia Podmore.
Kiwi dominance continued into the Endurance events as Regan Gough took the Omnium win, with Corbin Strong in second and Tom Sexton rounding out the podium.
Above: The New Zealanders setting the pace in Pensylvania
Gymnastics
Youth Olympic athlete Sam Dick placed fourth in the vault finals at the Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Champs.
The Aucklander was just 0.2 points off the podium.
Oceania Athletics Championships – Full New Zealand medal results
Gold
- Julia Ratcliffe, 71.39m, 2019 Doha IAAF World Champs qualifier, NZ record, Oceania record, Oceania Champs record
- Josephine Reeves, senior women high jump, 1.86m (Oceania Champs record)
- Jacko Gill, Senior men shot put, 20.75m
- Hamish Kerr, senior men high jump, 2.30 (=NZ record)
- Zoe Hobbs, senior women 100m
- Eddie Osei-Nketia, senior men 100m
- Maddison-Lee Wesche, 18.04m senior women’s shot put + new Oceania Area Champs record
- Oli Chignell, senior men’s 5000m, 14:07.17 PB + Oceania Area Champs record
Silver
- Victoria Owers, senior women’s shot put
- Matthew Baxter, senior men’s 5000m
- Olivia McTaggart, senior women pole vault, 4.25m
- Alexander Parkinson, senior men discus, 58.32m (PB)
- Zoe Hobbs, senior women 200m, 23.68
- Stella Pearless, Angela Petty, Katherine Camp, Krystie Solomon, Women 4x400m, 3:47.70
- Christina Ryan, Senior women heptathlon, 4756
- Michael Cochrane, Senior men 400m hurdles, 51.54
- Angela Petty, Senior women 800m, 2:03.41
- Jordan Peters, senior men long jump
- Olivia Eaton, Brooke Somerfield, Georgia Hulls, Natasha Eady, Senior women 4x100m, 45.19
Bronze
- Anthony Nobilo, senior men hammer, 64.93m (PB)
- Nicole Bradley, senior women hammer, 64.49m
- Marshall Hall, senior men discus, 57.03m
- Portia Bing, Senior women 400m hurdles, 57.11
- Brad Mathas, Senior men 800m, 1:50.47
- Ryan Ballantyne, Senior men shot put, 19.05m PB
- Sositina Hakeai, Senior women discus throw, 54.96m
- Max Attwell, Luke Mercieca, Samuel Tanner, Joshua Ledger, men 4x400m, 3:14.33
- Tori Peeters, senior women javelin
- Sam Tanner, senior men 1500m
- Georgia Hulls, senior women 100m
- Alex Wood, senior men’s javelin
- Nick Southgate, senior men’s pole vault
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