New Zealand's Road to Rio: 1 - 7 Dec

New Zealand's Road to Rio: 1 - 7 Dec

Kiwi cyclists collect three medals at Cambridge World Cup

Sprinter Eddie Dawkins rode away from the UCI Track World Cup in Cambridge with a silver medal and a sense of satisfaction that New Zealand has made huge strides towards the Rio Olympic Games.

Dawkins was part of the men’s sprint team who reached the final but lost to Germany by 0.289s, and then raced for bronze in the individual sprint, narrowly losing to Australian Matthew Glaetzer.

New Zealand finished the weekend with two other medals – the men’s pursuit team claiming silver and the women’s pursuiters beating the United States by almost 7s to secure bronze. “I felt we've made huge strides towards Rio, and Rio is the focus, this is just a stepping stone," Dawkins, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, said.

The team now focuses on the world championships in London in March, their final bid for Olympic selection before Rio.

Double Gold for shooting team in Sydney

Natalie Rooney (Women's Trap) and Chloe Tipple (Women's Skeet) have won Gold for New Zealand at the Oceania shooting championships in Sydney.

Rooney, who finished fourth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, qualified for the Oceania final in fourth spot, but held her nerve to out-shoot her Australian rivals for the gold.

London Olympian Ryan Taylor also snared a silver in the men's 50m prone rifle event.

Up and down for Black Sticks at World League Final

The Black Sticks women have had a mixed start to the FIH World League Final in Argentina, with a stirring win over Korea followed by a sobering loss to Olympic champions the Netherlands this morning.

The Black Sticks Women began the tournament with a 3-1 win against Korea, with goals scored by Pippa Hayward, Kirsten Pearce and Gemma Flynn.

But this morning they were dealt a 4-1 loss by the world’s No. 1 Dutch side, who scored in every quarter. The New Zealanders’ sole goal, scored in the second spell by Petrea Webster, levelled the scores but the Netherlands poured on the pressure with their outstanding speed and skill in the third quarter.

Portia Woodman brings up stunning century in Dubai

New Zealand winger Portia Woodman has notched up a notable century, scoring her 100th try in the World Rugby Women’s Sevens series during the 2016 series opener in Dubai.

It was a highlight in a tough tournament for the New Zealanders, who lost to Russia 33-7 in the first match and were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Australia. They recovered to win the plate final, 24-19, over Canada in golden point extra time.

Australia went on to claim the Dubai title, with a 31-12 victory over Russia in the final.

The NZ Sevens men suffered an unprecedented number of injuries in Dubai, yet still managed to finish the tournament in 4th place.

Tracey Lambrechs comes close to new national lifting record

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tracey Lambrechs has finished 25th overall in the women’s 75kg+ category at the world weightlifting championships in Houston.

Lambrechs lifted 101kg in the snatch, and came close to setting a New Zealand record in the clean and jerk of 138kg, but it was judged to be a no lift. She ended the competition with a total of 232kg.

Legendary Russian lifter Tatiana Kashirina won the division with a combined total of 333kg – becoming the first person to win six world titles.

Football Ferns levelled by Brazilian giants

The Football Ferns were given some food for thought by world soccer giants Brazil, who dished out a 5-1 loss to the New Zealanders in their lead-up to Olympic qualification.

The Brazilians, ranked seventh in the world, struck back with a vengeance after losing their opening match to the Ferns 1-0.

The New Zealanders led the second encounter 1-0 at halftime, through a clever chip over the keeper by striker Sarah Gregorius, but Brazil rattled in three quick goals after the break which stunned the Ferns.

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