New Zealand athletes tracking well for Tokyo 2020

New Zealand's athletes are tracking well for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with just 254 days until the Games begin!

Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Natalie Rooney won gold at the Oceania Shooting Championships on the weekend to secure qualification for Tokyo 2020.

Rooney hit 37 targets in the final to beat Australia’s Lisa Smith, who finished as the runner-up on 33.

The Women's Black Sticks team has also been bolstered by the return of two experienced players.

Kayla Whitelock and Gemma and McCaw will feature in the squad for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Coach Graham Shaw commented on naming his first national squad, “We feel the squad has a good mix of youth and experience as we start building towards the 2020 Tokyo games”.

The naming of the side follows the recent success of the mens team, which beat Korea in a two match series to secure qualification for Tokyo 2020.

Triathlete Andrea Hewitt has also announced her return to the sport in emphatic fashion, storming home to win the Santo Domingo World Cup.

Targeting Tokyo: Family support helping Ella Williams towards Olympic dream

Surfer Ella Williams credits her family as the reason she’s well on the way to realising her Olympic dream.

The 24-year-old from Whangamata has provisionally qualified for Tokyo 2020 and will have the chance to cement her selection at the 2020 World Surfing Games.

“The moment I realised I’d provisionally qualified I was ecstatic, just so happy and super thrilled. The Olympics have been such a dream of mine so to get to this point is unreal,” said Williams.

Read the full article here.

The Commonwealth Games return to Sky and Prime

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Sky New Zealand have agreed a long-term deal that will see Sky broadcast and stream the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as well as the 2026 Games.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held from 27 July to 7 August and are set to see 71 Commonwealth nations and territories compete across 18 sports.

CGF CEO David Grevemberg CBE said: “We are delighted to announce Sky as New Zealand’s rights holding broadcaster for the Commonwealth Games in a long-term commitment that will cover Birmingham 2022 and the 2026 Games.

“Sky have demonstrated a real commitment to gender equality through its broadcast of Birmingham 2022, which will be the first major multi-sport event in history to have more women’s medal events that men’s.

“This announcement means that there will be increased coverage of women’s sport across all of Sky’s reporting of the Commonwealth Games and that is why we see this as a fantastic partnership that will inspire women and girls through the power of sport."

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