February Sporting Spotlight

New Zealand has finished it's most successful ever World Athletics Indoor Championships with our athletes picking up two gold and two silver medals to finish third on the medal table. 

Hamish Kerr was outstanding in the high jump, clinching the gold in the men's high jump with a leap of 2.36m. The jump shattered the New Zealand Record, matched the Oceania Record, and set a new World Lead for 2024.

Middle distance runner George Beamish was the other Kiwi standing on top of the podium. Beamish executed a remarkable kick with just 100m to go in the 1500m final, moving from fourth to first to claim the gold medal in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Tom Walsh celebrated his 32nd birthday in great fashion, claiming the silver with a throw of 22.07m. Eliza McCartney was the other medal winner, taking silver in the Pole Vault with a jump of 4.80m, while Zoe Hobbs placed fourth in the 60m final, setting a new Oceania Record in the process.
 
The Black Ferns 7s have also been busy securing their second consecutive Vancouver title by defeating France 35-19. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe was in incredible form, scoring a hat-trick as the Ferns dominated France. But their winning streak didn't end there, they traveled to Los Angeles and claimed another World Series trophy, defeating Australia 29-14 in the final with Michaela Blyde scoring a hat trick. The All Blacks Sevens have also been in action, finishing runner up to Argentina in Vancouver.

The Football Ferns also punched their tickets to Paris, winning the OFC Women’s Olympic qualifiers in Samoa. The Ferns won all five of their matches beating the Solomon Islands in the final to secure Paris 2024 qualification.

David Liti had a fantastic weekend at the Weightlifting Festival in Auckland. He snagged his Oceania Champion title in front of an excited home crowd, lifting an impressive 236kg clean and jerk, and 177kg snatch for a 413kg total.
 
Swimmers Erika Fairweather and Lewis Clareburt also claimed World Champion titles to create history. Fairweather swam a beautiful 400m freestyle to go sub 4-minutes and win New Zealand's first ever World Aquatics Championship gold. The Dunedin athlete followed up her win with silver in the 200m Freestyle, and bronze in the 800m Freestyle. Not be be outdone Lewis Clareburt finished the meet in style, winning gold in the men’s 400m Individual Medley with a time of 4:09.72.

 
Hayden Wilde clinched the silver medal on his home turf at the 2024 World Triathlon Cup in Napier. It was an extraordinary race for Hayden, the Olympian finishing the swim in third to last place before fighting his way back on the bike and run, ultimately crossing the finish line in second place! 

The 2024 Oceania Track Championships were also held in Cambridge, with Sam Dakin achieving a new personal best in the qualifying rounds of the Men's Sprint in a time of 9.741. Aaron Gate also impressed with exceptional performance, surpassing his own New Zealand record in the Individual Pursuit (previously set at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games) with a time of 4:06.468.