The week that was: New Zealanders shine at Athletics World Champs + double Olympic delight for Kiwi Kayakers

The week that was: New Zealanders shine at Athletics World Champs + double Olympic delight for Kiwi Kayakers

Athletics

A host of New Zealand athletes have been in action at the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Doha.

Distance runner Camille Buscomb qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games, setting a new PB in the 10,000m with a time of 31:13.20 to finish 12th overall.

The 29-year-old said a Tokyo 2020 qualification time was the aim going into the race.

“There’s not many 10,000m races so the goal was always to try and run that time. Obviously it’s hard to think about that in the race because you’ve got to try and just give your best performance,” said Buscomb.

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Above: Buscomb realises she's hit the Tokyo 2020 qualification time. Credit Alisha Lovrich Photography.

Camille will compete again in the 5,000m later this week.

In her black singlet debut, sprinter Zoe Hobbs was quick off the blocks in her 100m heat alongside defending world champion Tori Bowie of the United States. Crossing the line in 11.58 and placing 6th in her heat, Hobbs was outside the time needed to qualify for the further races. Hobbs will take to the track again on Tuesday morning NZT for the 200m heats.

In his fifth successive World Championship 50km race walk Quentin Rew continued his style of moving through the field over the second half of the race, shifting from 24th at the 5km mark to 18th at halfway and finally crossing in 11th place in 4:15:54.

Hammer throw athlete Julia Ratcliffe was also in action. In just her second competition since winning the Commonwealth title in April 2018, Ratcliffe heaved a best throw of 70.45m, just outside of the top 12 who will progress to the final.

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In his first major International competition, 18-year-old Edward Osei-Nketia lined up for his 100m heat in lane seven next to medal hopefuls Andre De Grasse of Canada and defending World Champion Justin Gatlin of the United States.

The top three in each heat were guaranteed a place in the semi-final, along with the next six top performers. Gatlin crossed first in 10.07 with Edward coming in 5th in the competitive heat in 10.24. The time ranked him the eighth top performer across the heats, just two places shy of joining the semi-finals.

Finally racewalker Alana Barber began her race in the lead group and was sitting in 20th through the first 5km, dropping back slightly to 23rd at the 10km and 15km mark. It was clear to see the conditions had taken their toll as Alana made it over the finish line in 1:40:59 (27th place), eight minutes behind the winner Hong Liu from China.

The Athletics World Championships continue this week.

 

Canoe Slalom

Luuka Jones and Jack Dangen sealed a double dose of Olympic qualifying success for the New Zealand kayak team on at the Canoe Slalom World Championships in Spain.

Jones secured a spot at next year’s Tokyo Olympics after winning bronze in the women's K1 final at the canoe slalom world championships in Spain.

The bronze was the Tauranga paddler's first world championship medal and eclipses her fourth-placing in 2017 and her seventh-placing last year. It is also New Zealand's best K1 finish at a world championship.

"I knew that a good time had been set and I just went out and attacked it and left nothing out there," Jones said. "I'm so stoked to have put down a really good run - it's been a goal of mine for a long time to medal at world champs. 

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Jones went on to contest the C1, making her second final in as many days and eventually finishing ninth.

21-year-old Tauranga paddler Dangen, also provisionally booked a men's K1 boat for Tokyo in dramatic fashion, grabbing the 18th and final Olympic qualifying spot with his semifinal performance.

 

Weightlifting

New Zealander David Liti has recorded a strong result at the Weightlifting World Championships in Thailand.

Liti recorded a 173kg Snatch and a 227kg clean & jerk for a 400kg total to place 17th overall.

Liti posted on Instagram “About 10 weeks ago I bombed in Samoa for the Pacific Games so coming into this competition I really did have my doubts, but as each lift went on, I got more and more confident knowing that I’m having fun and doing what I love.”

 

Cycling

New Zealand World Tour professional Patrick Bevin finished an agonising two seconds off an historic podium in the elite time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

The fourth placing by the Taupo rider is the best achieved by a Kiwi elite male at the UCI World Road Cycling Championships, and while he came so close to the podium, Bevin has marked himself as a genuine contender for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

“Today was an improvement. Given the course and the field and being the world championships, then it is disappointing to miss the podium by such a small amount. But that is cycling. Fourth is fourth,” said Bevin.

 

Football

New Zealand’s U-23 men’s footballers will take a perfect record into the semi-finals of the Olympic Games qualifiers in Fiji.

The team notched up a third successive win, coming from behind to see off a spirited Solomon Islands side 4-2 in an entertaining encounter.

“The Solomons are very well coached, have some very good players and they posed a tough test. We went down a goal early on but stayed composed and stuck to the way we do things, so to come away with a win that puts us top of the group is really pleasing,” said coach Des Buckingham.

New Zealand will now meet either Fiji or Vanuatu in the semi-finals on Wednesday. 

 

Skateboarding

And congratulations to Shaun Boucher who won the Open Money Bowl and Queensland Street Championships over the weekend.