Blyth Tait Calls Time on Second Eventing Career
Former Olympic and world champion New Zealander Blyth Tait has retired from eventing for a second time, aged 58, Britain’s Horse & Hound magazine reports. Tait had had his eye on a fifth Olympic Games…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Corbin Strong Cycles From Strength to Strength
Southlander Corbin Strong, 19, was laid up in a back brace two years ago, stitches holding together a gaping wound in his leg. He had been training on a back road when a car…
Tennis Freshman Kate Bolton Making Friends in US
California State University, Stanislaus, women’s tennis has a new face – and a new voice – in 19-year-old Wellington-born freshman Kate Bolton, local newspaper, The Modesto Bee reports. Bolton, who attended Queen Margaret College, has…
Shot Put Champ Valerie Adams off to Olympics
Double shot-put champion Valerie Adams, 35, has qualified for her fifth Olympic Games after the New Zealander spent almost two years out of competition, Reuters reports in a story published by The New York…
NXT Star Dakota Kai Reinvents Herself Post-Injury
Professional wrestler Auckland-born Dakota Kai, 31, is quickly becoming an indispensable piece of popular television programme, WWE NXT’s success, Jason Barrosso reports for Sports Illustrated magazine. Kai, real name Cheree Crowley, played the underdog babyface…
What Makes Super Coach Noelene Taurua Tick?
English netballer Geva Mentor is happy to nominate Noeline Taurua as easily the best coach she has played under, but finds it a little harder to articulate the secret to the celebrated New Zealander’s…
Equestrian Legend Sir Mark Todd Retires
Cambridge-born equestrian star Sir Mark Todd, who competed in seven Olympic Games, has announced his retirement after helping the New Zealand team to win a FEI Eventing Nations’ Cup event in Ireland. China’s English-language…
New Zealand Trail Star Nancy Jiang Rises to Success
Chinese-born New Zealander Nancy Jiang’s determination to succeed in trail running is shaped by her upbringing, when her parents pushed for academics over sport, according to Mark Agnew who interviewed Jiang on the South…
Andrew Nicholson Claims Another Barbury Win
New Zealand eventer Andrew Nicholson has continued his Barbury Horse Trials brilliance with another victory in the event’s premier competition as Swallow Springs triumphed in the CCI 4* class, according to Swindon Advertiser sports…
Phoenix Player Sarpreet Singh Signs with Bayern
Wellington Phoenix midfielder Sarpreet Singh, 20, has signed with German powerhouse Bayern Munich in one of the highest-profile transfers of a New Zealand footballer, AFP reports. Born in New Zealand to Indian parents, Singh was…
Sean Marks and the Nets Are in the Endgame Now
According to the New York Daily News, “selling hope is the easy part of being an NBA executive. The blueprint is simple: Refrain from long-term contracts, trade short-term assets for long-term assets, give playing…
New Zealand in Throes of a Basketball Revolution
An ESPN article reports that the School Sport New Zealand Census, which has been conducted annually since 2000, revealed earlier this year that basketball had gone past rugby and was only trailing netball as…
Skyrunner Ruth Croft Prepares for China Race
The South China Morning Post’s Mark Agnew reports that China might be famous for its food, but two top trail runners are approaching their pre-race meals with contrasting plans. New Zealander Ruth Croft and…
Kelsey Birse Creates a Career from Gaming
When Kelsey Birse was given an Xbox as a Christmas present, he never anticipated a future fulltime career in esports, Stuff reporter Oskar Howell writes. Birse, who goes by in-game name ‘Colourhex’, puts his…
Lou Brown Shatters World Shearing Record
The 497 merino ewes shorn in eight hours by Napier-raised shearer Lou Brown was 31 more than the record of 466 set by his coach and mentor, fellow-New Zealander Cartwright Terry, according to a…
Gymnast Ruby Hamilton In Training for Olympics
As Abu Dhabi and Dubai prepare to host the Special Olympics World Games, seven women who will be representing the UAE talk about what tolerance, hard work and winning mean to them. Twelve-year-old New…
Wuhan Open Appoints Brenda Perry
Wuhan Open has marked International Women’s Day by becoming the most prestigious professional tennis tournament to have two female tournament directors, New Zealander Brenda Perry and China’s Li Qiuping. Experienced tennis professional Perry will join…
Rising MMA Star Israel Adesanya Holds off Veteran
Mixed martial arts star Israel Adesanya, a Nigerian-born New Zealander, beat former middleweight champion, Brazilian Anderson Silva in a wild three-round brawl, according to The Straits Times. The match that was upgraded to the main…
New Ground Features Young Gun Craig Murray
Short film New Ground, made by Austrian ski company Atomic, follows New Zealander, Craig Murray, as he navigates his first stint on the Freeride World Tour (FWT) in 2018. “Struggling to put down a solid run at…
Teenager Alice Robinson Wins Slalom Title in Europe
Queenstown ski racer Alice Robinson, 17, is continuing some strong form and has just made a trip to the top of the dais winning a European Cup giant slalom event in Germany, the first…
Brooklyn Nets Manager Sean Marks Bets on People
The Brooklyn Nets have become one of the NBA season’s biggest surprises. Auckland-born Sean Marks is the basketball team’s manager and he recently spoke with Harvey Araton, a sports reporter for The New York Times. Araton…
Marie McNaughton Back on the Trail Again
Legendary Hong Kong-based runner, New Zealander Marie McNaughton is on the long road back from injury but recently received a boost with an invite to the prestigious Western States. McNaughton discusses her road to…
Former Wada Head David Howman Slams Drug Tests
Former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), New Zealander David Howman, has added to pressure on the foundation by saying that its testing methods are outdated. Howman, the director-general of Wada from 2003 to…
NBA’s Toughest Enforcer is Steven Adams
The days of the NBA’s powerful big men are slowly dwindling. Players like Detroit Pistons’ enforcer Bill Laimbeer and the Chicago Bulls’ Dennis Rodman have been effectively pushed out of the game with rule…
Legend of Scrabble Nigel Richards Continues to Grow
Hunched motionless over the board and calling out his word scores in a voice slightly louder than a whisper was four-time World English Scrabble champion, New Zealander Nigel Richards, 51, in closely-cropped grey hair…
Liam Malone Running Down a New Track
Double-amputee and Paralympic gold medalist, Nelson-born Liam Malone, 25, talks to Britain’s GQ magazine about anxiety, depression and how a life-changing car accident helped him get to Rio. When Malone’s mother died of cancer, it…
Young Cyclist Ella Harris Earns Pro Contract
Dunedin cyclist Ella Harris is the third woman, and the youngest victor, to win the Canyon-Sram Zwift Academy Programme becoming the latest rider to earn a professional contract through the virtual cycling app. Harris has…
Inside the Ring With Wrestler Toni Storm
Toni Rossall, aka Toni Storm, has swiftly emerged as one of the most exciting members of the WWE roster; the 23-year-old New Zealander is a key member of the NXT UK roster. Storm won…
New Zealand Wins Bronze at FIFA U-17 World Cup
New Zealand has beaten Canada 2-1 to bring home bronze at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay. The Canadian women found themselves down just 15 seconds after the opening kickoff with New…
64-Year Old Runs Length of New Zealand
“64-year-old Perry Newburn just ran the length of his native New Zealand” fuelled by hash browns and milkshakes,” Jane McGuire writes in an article for Runner’s World. With his run…
Former Journalist Amy Andrew Quits for the Gloves
New Zealander Amy Andrew experienced “the greatest moment of her career” not long ago during a sparring session ahead of the Women’s Boxing World Championships in New Delhi. “It was a mixed session. I looked…
Casey Brown Rewriting the Rules of Mountain Biking
New Zealand-born Casey Brown, who has lived in Canada for the past 16 years, has established herself as one of the most talented female mountain bikers in the world. And now she’s aiming to…
Jamie Turner is Training the Best in the World
Elite triathlon coach Jamie Turner is an affable New Zealander known for building mentally unbreakable athletes. The 46-year-old former triathlete, now a bit soft around the edges, loves to speak in metaphors gleaned from…
Dylan McCullough Takes Triathlon Gold at Youth Olympic Games
“Dylan McCullough of New Zealand stormed to victory in the men’s triathlon at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 on Monday 8 October,” as reported on Olympic.org. “The Kiwi athlete…
Record-Holding Runner Anne Audain Back in Lynchburg
More than 4000 descended on Lynchburg for the annual Genworth Virginia 10 Miler and its sister races to see course record-holder New Zealander Anne Audain return to the Virginia city…
Hong Kong’s Newest Racecaller is Tom Wood
He started out commentating his brother running laps at their family home and now New Zealander Tom Wood, 28, is living out a dream as he settles into life as Hong Kong’s newest racecaller,…
Javelin Thrower Holly Jones off to Special Olympics
Paeroa woman Holly Jones has being selected to represent New Zealand at the Special Olympics World Games, to be held in Abu Dhabi in March. Jones, who has dyspraxia and mild cerebral palsy, will compete…
Double Win for Equestrians Tim and Jonelle Price
Just four months after his wife Jonelle took top honours in the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, fellow New Zealander Tim Price, 39, captured British eventing’s other major four-star crown, winning the Land Rover…
WWE Rising Star Dakota Kai a Wrestling Trailblazer
Thirty-year-old Aucklander Dakota Kai signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) more than a year ago but every now and then, she still has to pinch herself. It’s easy to see why. Kai is breaking new…
California Uni Football Welcomes Lone Toailoa
Growing up in West Auckland in a family of Samoan heritage, Lone Toailoa spent his childhood playing rugby and practicing mixed martial arts. It wasn’t until he started toying with the Madden video game…
Netballer Irene van Dyk Holds Clinics in Jamaica
New Zealand’s Irene van Dyk, 46, will be undertaking a series of netball coaching clinics for children, coaches and teachers in Jamaica this week. Van Dyk’s career as an international netball player puts her in…
Israel Adesanya Might Be the UFC’s next Superhero
Nigeria-born New Zealander Israel Adesanya “is one of the ‘The Last Stylebender’ … It’s a reference to Avatar: The Last…
Everest for the Time-Pressed Executive
On the fourth week of their historic assault on Everest in 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were still establishing base camp after the long trek from Kathmandu. It would…
Joseph Parker to Box Dillian Whyte in London
Joseph Parker probably did not expect to return to Britain within three months of losing his WBO heavyweight title to Anthony Joshua, but the South Aucklander was back in London, smartly suited up at The…
Steven Adams One of World’s Highest Paid Athletes
New Zealander Steven Adams, 24, professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association (NBA), has made the annual Forbes World’s Highest Paid Athletes list. According to Forbes, “the 100 top-earning…
Mikayla Werahiko Glad She Chose Maryland Softball
Infielder Mikayla Werahiko, 22, was apprehensive when New Zealand national team coach Kevin Gettins first suggested she go to the United States for softball, but she was willing to take a risk, so she…
Jonelle Price Claims First Four-Star Title With Badminton Victory
“Jonelle Price and her star mare Classic Moet have won the 2018 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials,” writes Lucy Elder in an article for Horse & Hound. Price is the…
Badminton First-Timer Ginny Thompson Ready
Twenty-six-year-old New Zealander Virginia (Ginny) Thompson is having to pinch herself that she is in the UK ready to compete at her first ever Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, which get underway on 2…
Jeremy Brockie Pleased about South Africa Move
Mamelodi Sundowns striker New Zealander Jeremy Brockie, 30, tells Johannesburg-based news site Sowetan LIVE about his decision to relocate with his family to South Africa to join the country’s Premier Soccer League (PSL). Before joining…
Gamer Andrew Barrow Wins Score Wars in Santa Fe
New Zealander Andrew Barrow, 29, is the new Galaga World Champion after winning the top prize at immersive art gallery Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The objective of Galaga is to rack up…
Hamish Bond Switches Strokes for Spokes
For eight years New Zealander Hamish Bond was unvanquished, winning double Olympic gold and seven world titles with rowing partner Eric Murray, CNN reports. But what do you do when winning becomes routine? In Bond’s…
Paralympic Skier Adam Hall Earns Triple Honour
New Zealand alpine skier Adam Hall (pictured right), 30, who won a gold and a bronze medal in the men’s slalom and super-combined, respectively, at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, has also been…
Sam Gaze Wins First Race as Elite Athlete
“New Zealand’s Sam Gaze realised a dream when he won the opening leg of the UCI Mercedes-Benz MTB World Cup in Stellenbosch at the weekend, beating the world champion Nino Schurter in a breathtaking…
Skiing’s Remarkable Wells Brothers
Wanaka’s Wells brothers are “skiing’s answer to the Von Trapp family”, according to CNN’s Matias Grez. The four freeskiers are: Jossi, 27, (pictured) Byron, 25, Beau-James, 21, and Jackson, 19. Ever since he can remember,…
Athletics Role for Rowing Ireland’s Hamish Adams
Athletics Ireland has announced the appointment of New Zealander Hamish Adams as its new chief executive officer. Adams, who for the past five years has been Rowing Ireland CEO, will vacate that role and take…
Chris Waller Humbled by Hall of Fame Recognition
All Sydney-based trainer Chris Waller wanted to be was a reasonable trainer when he started in the tough game of preparing racehorses in his homeland of New Zealand. Reasonable has been replaced by premier…
