Nico Porteous steps back from Olympics, focuses on new ventures
THE FACTS
Our most successful winter sportsman, Nico Porteous, has announced he will not be chasing a third Olympic Games medal.
Porteous' decision has surprised many who expected him to defend his gold in Italy.
At just 23, without a drop in form or injury to force his
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NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Nico Porteous steps back from Olympics, focuses on new ventures
THE FACTS Our most successful winter sportsman, Nico Porteous, has announced he will not be chasing a third Olympic Games medal. Porteous' decision has surprised many who expected him to defend his gold in Italy. At just 23, without a drop in form or injury to force his
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Long game for Butcher on return
Climbing your personal Everest is some sort of achievement. Getting to the summit for a second time? Now that is going to be an incredible challenge. Otago paddling king Finn Butcher is playing the long game as he begins the first year in his next Olympic Games cycle. Butcher, crowned the supreme winner at the Otago Sports Awards on Friday night, has completed a challenging first two rounds of the canoe slalom world cup season. He was fifth in the kayak slalom final and missed qualifying for the kayak cross quarterfinals at the opening round in La Seu d'Urgell, in Spain. The Olympic kayak cross champion had a fault in the heat and was 34th in the slalom at the second round in Pau, France, earlier this week. A new world cup format for the traditional slalom discipline has made the action on the water more intense than ever. There is now just one heat from which the top 12 paddlers progress straight to the final. Previously, the first 30 made it to the semifinals, a follow-up heat gave 10 more paddlers a place in the semifinals, and the top 10 from the semifinals progressed to the final. "It's a bit more cutthroat than it used to be, if you can get any more cutthroat," Butcher told the Otago Daily Times from France. He had two touches in the slalom heat in Pau to drop down the rankings. There was a spot of bad luck in the kayak cross as he led his heat most of the way but was harshly faulted on the final gate. Earlier, in Spain, a touch on gate seven in the slalom final pushed him from the bronze medal position to fifth. "That was a really good hit-out," Butcher said. " I've always liked the course in Seu. The vibe feels a little bit like Central Otago — just sort of a medieval version. It's tucked away in the hills and the scenery is cool. "I'm happy to be back into the European race season after a pretty good summer of preparation at home." Butcher, whose partner Courtney Williams is also racing on the world cup circuit, spent some time in Sydney before heading to Europe. The world championships are in Sydney in October and are his biggest focus for the year. "It was good to do some training there because the world champs are the target. "I guess it's a mini-peak for these world cups just to test out the training and try a few different things in big races. "I would love to perform well but all eyes are really on Sydney for me. "It's almost like a home world champs — as close as we can get — and I would love to perform well and take home some hardware." The next round of the canoe slalom world cup is in Prague on June 26-29. Round four is in Ljubljana-Tacen, Slovenia, on August 28-31, followed by the world cup finals in Augsburg, Germany, on September 4-7.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Sports chat with Glen Larmer
It will be the Crusaders and the Chiefs in the Super Rugby final after an enthralling season. In the golf - Kiwi Ryan Fox was involved in an exciting US Open and at football's Club World Cup in the US, Auckland City are thumped by one of the best teams in the world Bayern Munich. And Glen speaks about Nico Porteous' decision to step away from snowsports. Nico Porteous 2022 Winter Olympic champion Photo: PHOTOSPORT
