October has been an exciting month for our Kiwi athletes who’ve been racking up podium spots across the world as they work towards spots on the Olympic Team.
To kick things off, Erika Fairweather competed in the Swimming World Cups in Berlin, Athens and Budapest where she knocked it out of the park, winning gold in the 400m freestyle in all three events. The young Dunedin swimmer also broke a World Cup Record in Berlin, clocking a red hot time of 4:01.09s. Fairweather picked up a further five silver medals across the meets to lock in 5th place for accumulated points throughout the series.
Our canoe slalom athletes were also in action, showcasing their incredible skill in the Paris Olympic Test Event. Four time Olympian Luuka Jones aced the competition winning gold in women’s kayak cross, while teammate Finn Butcher secured silver in the men’s kayak cross.
In the triathlon Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Hayden Wilde put a difficult few weeks behind him to claim another Super League title. Competing in Malibu the ‘falcon’, as Wilde is known to his supporters, won both of the opening two stages and rammed home that advantage as he ran away from Frenchman Leo Bergere on the run leg of the final pursuit stage. His New Zealand teammates were also in fine form with Taylor Reid finishing 10th, and Nicole van der Kaay placing 11th. Well done Kiwis!
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World Champion cyclist Ellesse Andrews was then in action in as she debuted in the UCI Track Champions League. Competing in the keirin, Andrews won her qualifying race and then impressed in the final, moving from mid-pack with two laps to go to score the win in Mallorca.
Finally in the golf, Lydia Ko took third place in the Ladies Championship in South Korea, landing her first top-5 finish on the LPGA Tour this season.
That's just a snapshot of what our athletes were up to in a busy October which brought a whirlwind of achievements. From Fairweather’s record-breaking triumph, to Ellesse Andrews brilliant keirin win, the NZ Team is looking good.
We Are The New Zealand Team
Ko Tātou Te Kapa O Aotearoa