Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

Just two weeks out from the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, New Zealand has had its best Winter X Games ever, with Finley Melville Ives bagging another gold for the team.

Melville Ives delivered across three jaw-dropping runs to dominate the competition in the men’s ski superpipe at the X Games in Aspen on Monday (NZ time).

His performance brought the total haul by the New Zealand athletes to two gold and four silver.

Melville Ives led from the start scoring 89.33, then improving in his second run to score 93.33, then laying down a fearless run to score a 95.00.

No-one could touch the Wānaka-based athlete who impressed the judges in showcasing both amplitude and difficulty, his last run giving 6m of air in his first trick, a switch right 9. As a rookie last year, he narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish.

Melville Ives won silver at the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics and in March last year was crowned the 2025 FIS Freeski Halfpipe world champion at his debut World Champs. This year he has scored two World Cup podiums, coming first in freeski halfpipe at Buttermilk and second in Calgary.

Melville Ives said conditions were tricky, but the crowd vibe was electric – “It’s been super surreal. I’m just so grateful to have put down these runs in front of all the fans,” Melville Ives said.

The 19-year-old ski star said landing the switch 14, which he’d never done before in competition, was a highlight.

Snow Sports NZ head coach high performance park and pipe Tom Willmott said it was an epic night to wrap up New Zealand’s most successful X Games.

“Fin placed fourth at last year’s X Games and was keen to get on the box this time around. Fin did not have the luxury of a victory lap with the new format, which moves the current leader to second to last in the final run.

“Fin dropped in super-fast and executed a massive switch right 9 landing at the top of the wall into a switch left double 14 into back-to-back 16s and finishing with an allyoop double 9. It was the first time he had landed this combination, and the judges rewarded him with a score of 95.00 and X Games gold.”

Luke Harrold came sixth in the men’s freeski halfpipe.

Also competing today were yesterday’s silver medallist Rocco Jamieson, who narrowly missed the podium in the Men’s Knuckle Huck, finishing in fourth.

Dane Menzies, an X Games rookie, came 11th in snowboard slopestyle.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from 6-22 February 2026 across iconic Italian alpine venues.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s top doubles player, Erin Routliffe, has had her Australian Open come to an end in the third round.

The Kiwi doubles star, and her partner Asia Muhammad, were upset by Ena Shibahara of Japan and Russian veteran Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.

Breaks were traded in the fourth and fifth games of the first set before the sixth seeds led 5-4, only to drop the next three games in a row and the set 7-5.

In the second set, Routliffe and Muhammad gained the only break in the fourth game on Shibahara’s serve and kept the lead as the American rounded out the set 6-3.

However, the third set was a struggle for the Kiwi and American combination in their first Slam together.

Muhammad was broken in the second game and Routliffe in the fourth as Zvonareva and Shibahara raced through the set and match 6-1.

It was a case of winding back the clock for the 41-year-old Zvonareva.

Zvonareva peaked at No. 2 in the singles rankings in 2010, the same year she finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Zvonareva made a low-key comeback at the ITF W100 in Dubai in December, marking her first professional tournament since June 2024.

Routliffe and her mixed doubles partner, Andre Goransson of Sweden, were knocked out of the tournament yesterday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Nine-time New Zealand men’s surfing champion Billy Stairmand would love to gain a wildcard for the new Raglan leg of the World Surf League Championship Tour.

The Waikato coastal town has been chosen to host the fourth stop on the WSL 2026 circuit, the New Zealand Pro, from 15-25 May.

It will be the country’s first combined men’s and women’s WSL Championship Tour event.

The world’s top 36 men and 24 women will compete, with New Zealand set to be allowed one man and one woman to enter as wildcards.

Stairmand and Maya Mateja won the men’s and women’s national titles at Makorori Beach, north of Gisborne, a week ago, and while Stairmand would be a top chance of getting the men’s spot, Mateja’s eligibility for a Kiwi wildcard has to be established with the WSL, as she has competed under a Mexican flag.

There will likely be trials before the wildcards are selected. Paige Hareb, Saffi Vette and Ella Williams are possible contenders for the women’s position, while Stairmand could face his toughest competition from Luke Cederwall, Daniel Farr and Alexis Owens on the men’s side.

Stairmand, 36, a two-time Olympian, is a veteran these days but would love to represent New Zealand on his home surf.

“It’s pretty exciting for me, because I was born and bred in Raglan and moulded my career there,” he told RNZ Sport.

“I’m really trying to get into that contest myself and hopefully come up against those big dogs and give it to them in my backyard.

“It’s very exciting for everyone in Raglan and the surfing community in New Zealand.”

One of the attractions for Raglan for surfers is that it offers waves with a difference.

“It is a long left-hand point break, and there’s not many waves like that on tour. It’s a very high-performance wave, with a lot of sections that you can play around with and mix up your manoeuvres,” Stairmand said.

“If you’re in the water looking at the shore, the waves break to your left.

“It just runs along a rock point break, comes off the mountain, Mount Karioi, there’s a few different point breaks, and it will looking good for that time of year.”

Stairmand travelled to Hawaii after the national championships and will compete in a world tour challenger series event at Banzai Pipeline, starting on Friday.

He said his competitive edge is still strong.

“With my experience and confidence about being at home, it would be a cool opportunity to showcase some surfing and hopefully put a few heats together and have a bit of fun out there.”

“I’m keen as to put my best foot forward. I’ll definitely be at home gunning for a spot into that contest.”

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said the event would attract global attention.

“This is an incredible opportunity for surfing in New Zealand. Fans will be able to watch the world’s most talented surfers get barrelled and compete, inspiring our budding young athletes and helping grow the sport in New Zealand,” she said.

“The New Zealand Pro will also give a major tourism boost to the Waikato, with a lineup of competitors and spectators

to the region and a global broadcast of the event, showcasing Raglan as a top surf destination internationally.”

The event is being backed financially by the government’s Events Attraction Package, which aims to bring high-value international events to New Zealand.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ Rugby (NZR) on Monday confirmed the process to hire a new All Black coach will commence this week, with the ultimately successful applicant needing to have test coaching experience.

Tellingly, that was the one aspect missing from the recently axed Scott Robertson’s CV when he took on the role in 2024.

This stipulation once again brings a few names into sharp focus, with frontrunners Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie having both coached Japan and Australia respectively.

This also means Blues coach Vern Cotter (Fiji, Scotland) can apply, but it somewhat ironically rules out coach Rob Penney, despite the Crusaders coach winning both the Super Rugby Pacific title and NZR Coach of the Year in 2025.

Today’s announcement also confirmed the makeup of a five-person appointment panel, and that it will solely be for the head coaching position. This is notable because both Robertson and Ian Foster’s hirings involved having to assemble a staff as part of the job application with them, only for both tenures marked by staff either leaving or being removed.

It’s understood that the current All Black assistant coaching staff of Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison have been told it’s ‘business as usual’ for the time being, although the new coach will ultimately have the final say on his assistants.

The panel will include Board Chair David Kirk, Board Member Keven Mealamu, experienced high performance expert Don Tricker, interim CEO Steve Lancaster and a recently retired All Blacks player. Mealamu, who played 132 tests between 2002-15, was also involved in the All Black end of season review that played a critical role in Robertson’s sensational removal earlier this month.

It’s understood the recently retired player who will join the panel has not been confirmed yet.

The final decision on the All Blacks’ head coach will be made by the NZR Board.

NZR interim CEO Steve Lancaster said that the role is “an incredibly important appointment.”

“We’ve started the process and are giving it the care and urgency it deserves to set the team up for success. We’ll provide further updates as soon as we can.”

The hiring process is expected to take at least a month, which leaves precious little time for the All Blacks to reset before a very challenging season commences in July. They face France, Italy and Ireland in the new Nations Cup competition, before an eight-match tour of South Africa that includes four tests against the world champion Springboks.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Raglan will host the world’s finest professional surfers for nearly two weeks in May after its addition as a stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour.

The famed surfing town on the Waikato west coast has been confirmed as the fourth stop on the 2026 WSL circuit, Championship Tour, from May 15-25.

Raglan, which is renowned for its left-hand point break, will stage a combined men’s and women’s event for the first time in New Zealand.

Taranaki hosted the elite women on four occasions in the early 2010s but the professional men’s circuit has never come here.

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said the event would attract global attention.

“This is an incredible opportunity for surfing in New Zealand. Fans will be able to watch the world’s most talented surfers get barrelled and compete, inspiring our budding young athletes and helping grow the sport in New Zealand,” Upston said.

“The New Zealand Pro will also give a major tourism boost to the Waikato, with a lineup of competitors and spectators

to the region and a global broadcast of the event, showcasing Raglan as a top surf destination internationally.”

The world’s top 36 men and 24 women will compete, with New Zealand set to be allowed one man and one woman to enter as wildcards.

There is likely to be trials to find the two New Zealand representatives, with recently crowned national champions Billy Stairmand and Maya Mateja likely to be among the favourites.

The event is being backed financially by the Government’s Events Attraction Package, which aims to bring high-value international events to New Zealand.

“Major events like these give a huge economic boost to our cities and towns – supporting hospitality and tourism businesses, creating more jobs and growing our economy and building for the future,” Upston said.

“We’re not just hosting events; we’re building a reputation internationally as a world-class destination for culture, sport and entertainment.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will not be pursuing the vacant All Black head coaching role, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Schmidt has apparently informed NZ Rugby that he is not interested in a return to the All Blacks set up, despite being due to step down after the July Nations Cup test matches. He will be replaced by Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss.

The 60-year-old was near the top of the list of potential candidates to replace Scott Robertson, however his contract status with Rugby Australia has been a fluid situation. The Wallabies’ season last year included a tense series loss to the British & Irish Lions, followed by a record victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park. However, the wave of enthusiasm around the Wallabies was dampened significantly by a run of disappointing losses to close the season out – including two comfortable Bledisloe Cup defeats.

Veteran Wallaby prop Alan Alaalatoa said that the current group of players were hopeful that Schmidt would stay on through to the 2027 World Cup, which is being hosted in Australia.

“The boys do respect him so much, and we are hoping that he stays involved with us. It doesn’t have to be the Wallabies, but Australian rugby behind the scenes,” Alaalatoa told the SMH.

“Because what he’s done for our team in a short period of time has been massive. I think he’d only make positive movements for us in Australian rugby as a whole if he’s involved in some capacity.”

This news now appears to narrow the potential All Black coach pool even further, after the news last week that Tony Brown will be staying in his role as Springbok assistant coach. News came out yesterday that long time coach mentor Sir Wayne Smith will also be stepping away from NZR, apparently moving on to an undisclosed club overseas.

That leaves Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie as the most realistic options, with an announcement expected today that NZR will commence the hiring process for the new coach.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

s econd medals] in Aspen as they build momentum ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Luca Harrington powered to New Zealand’s first golden moment at the Winter X Games as the overall medal tally climbed to five on day two in Aspen.

Harrington added a men’s Ski Slopestyle gold to the freeski Big Air silver he clinched the previous day while Zoi Sadowski-Synott also doubled her medal count.

Sadowski-Synott bagged silver in the snowboard Big Air, having also finished runner-up in the Slopestyle.

New Zealand’s third medal of the day was claimed by Rocco Jamieson, when he landed silver in the Snowboard Big Air.

Harrington underlined his Olympic credentials by defending the X Games title he won last year, when he famously entered the competition as an alternate.

The 21-year-old handled competition delays and tough conditions with aplomb, taking the lead after first run, in which he landed two triples.

Momentarily dropping off the leaderboard, he then posted a score of 94.33 to clinch gold in round two to become just the third skier to win back-to-back golds in the event.

Snow Sports NZ head coach high oerformance park and pipe Tom Willmott said Harrington’s display was impressive given the conditions.

“Luca kept in the hunt, made the most of training, and just smashed it scoring the highest in the first run, getting bumped down as conditions improved, only to step right up in his second run to claim the title going back-to-back following his win as a rookie last year.,” Wilmott said.

Sadowski-Synnott, who has been recuperating from a knee complaint, was bettered only by Cocomo Murase of xx who landed a never-been-done backside triple cork 1620 to win the gold with a score of 96.66.

Willmott said: “Zoi landed a flawless back triple 14 first run and was able to improve on the second. Given she has been out of action for a while, it was incredible (although true to form) for her to build right back to her best level of riding.”

Jamieson saved his best for last across his three runs, landing a backside 2160 to score 90.66 points.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Wellington Phoenix women have surged up to the second spot on the A-League ladder with a 3-1 victory over Adelaide United in Porirua.

Two goals in three minutes gave the home side a 2-0 lead at half-time and the momentum to halt Adelaide’s five game unbeaten run.

A tumbling Makala Woods scored the first of the Phoenix’s goals in the 15th minute, against the run of play, when she managed to get the ball over the goal line despite losing her footing.

Woods then turned provider when she controlled a ball from a throw in at the top of the box and passed to Brooke Nunn who scored past an advancing Adelaide goalkeeper to double the lead in the 18th minute.

Nunn scored her second goal of the game with less than 10 minutes to play when she shot from outside the top of the box and into the top corner of the net.

Adelaide scored a conciliation goal in the 87th minute to substitute Isabel Hodgson.

New Phoenix signing, American striker Mackenzie Anthony, had her work visas approved in time to make her debut off the bench, replacing a cramping Woods in the 78th minute.

Her inclusion was a boost for the Phoenix who the day before the game were uncertain if she would be cleared to play.

The win was also Mania Elliott’s 50th game for Phoenix. She came off the bench in the 55th minute to mark the milestone.

The Phoenix began the game in ninth on the points table and with the best defence in the competition, their goal difference has then allowed them to secure second place behind Melbourne City.

The Phoenix now have five wins, three draws and three losses ahead of their next game against the Newcastle Jets on 1 February.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Running sensation Sam Ruthe has become the fastest 16-year-old to ever run the mile, achieving the feat at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui on Saturday night.

The Tauranga teenager clocked three minutes, 53.36 seconds to go under the former world record mark held by Australian Cam Myers.

Ruthe was narrowly beaten to the finish line by two-time Olympian and training partner Sam Tanner, who helped push the youngster on, as he has done in other races on the domestic scene.

“It feels incredible. That was my goal coming into this race. I was trying to beat Tanner as well, but as soon as the gun started, I just wanted to run as fast as possible,” Ruthe told TVNZ.

“To lead out some of this race was something I felt I just had to do. I’ll hopefully get my time down faster.”

Tanner, 25, defended his national men’s senior mile title, surging past Ruthe in the home straight to win in 3min 53.36sec.

It came a week after Ruthe pipped Tanner in an exciting 800m race at the Potts Classic in Hastings.

Last year the pair finished in a dead heat in the final of the men’s 1500m at the national championships.

Both will leave for the United States next week, with Ruthe eyeing four indoor mile races on successive weekends, in a campaign he believes will be important for his development.

Ruthe is now seventh on the list of all-time New Zealand milers, having overtaken the legendary Sir Peter Snell.

In other notable results, sprinters Tiaan Whelpton and Zoe Hobbs won the respective men’s and women’s 100m titles in sharp – though wind-assisted – times.

Ireland’s Laura Nicholson ran a smart time of 4min 43.75sec to win the women’s mile.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Southland’s Josh Burnett has become just the sixth rider to win three or more Tour of Southland titles, joining an elusive club that includes Brian Fowler and Hayden Roulston.

Burnett (team PowerNet), who rides for a professional team in Spain, started the day with a 19 second lead over Cambridge’s Matthew Wilson (Advanced Personnel Cycling Team). However an outstanding individual time trial by Wilson in the morning saw him take the stage victory and cut the lead to just 10sec heading into the final 77km stage, from Winton to Invercargill.

The fast and furious final stage was lashed by wind and rain throughout, with Wilson making a bold attack on the penultimate lap of the tour’s Waikiwi circuit finish before the two frontrunners finished safely in the bunch to repeat the one-two finish they recorded in 2024.

Burnett’s name now joins the likes of Warwick Dalton, Tino Tabak, Fowler, Roulston and Michael Vink as riders who have won New Zealand’s most prestigious stage race three or more times.

It almost didn’t happen, with Burnett originally ruled out of the November event by a badly broken arm and only coming back into the equation when an extreme weather event meant the 2025 edition was postponed until January.

“I was just planning on helping the Mito-Q boys out and cleaning their bikes. To get this opportunity, I’m super grateful to PowerNet, it’s such a well-run team. Both on and off the bike we’ve had such a good time this week. It’s a massive credit to Aaron (Sinclair) who has put this team together for the past few years. All I’ve had to think about is riding my bike,” Burnett said.

To get the chance to return from riding for his Spanish professional team, Burgos Burpellet BH, and win his home race was something special, Burnett said.

“It definitely hasn’t sunk in. I was just taking it day by day and I’m just really proud to be from this region,” he said.

“There’s no other bike race in the world where I get this amount of support so I’ve got to lap it up where I can. In Spain I can’t even read the signs, so when I’m here I make the most of it.”

Burnett, who also won the King of the Mountain classification, paid credit to his team mates, who were challenged throughout the week, particularly after losing team captain Ollie Jones to a crash on Tuesday.

“For sure there were some expectations on my shoulders all week, but I think it was mainly transferred onto my team mates, making them ride the front for three days, so a big shout out to those boys, because without them I wouldn’t have had the chance to contest the stages or be in contention.”

Burnett highlighted the battle he had with Wilson for the second Southland tour in a row. The pair sparred throughout the week, especially with one-two finishes on both the Remarkables and Bluff Hill finishes. Daniel Whitehouse (Quality Food Southland/Gough Brothers) was third overall at 1min 38sec.

“Massive credit to Matt because he is super strong and I’m sure he’s going to win a Southland one day, that’s for sure.”

The final stage was won by Southland’s Nick Kergozou, the second time he has won the finale. Kergozou (Open Country-TES) said he was proud to win the stage and claim his fourth Sprint Ace title in his ninth Southland tour.

“I’m ecstatic with that. Matt Wilson was putting it in the gutter pretty hard. He was throwing it all out there and I knew I just had to follow to keep the sprint jersey alive.”

Timaru’s Noah Hollamby (Onya Bike) completed an outstanding debut Tour of Southland, winning the under 23 jersey and finishing fourth overall. Australian Ben Dyball (Macaulay Ford-Good Tech Team) was the leading over 35 rider, and fifth overall.

Macaulay Ford-Good Tech Team won the teams classification, while Christchurch’s James Krzanich (Lattitude Cycling Team) was named the Most Combative rider for the final stage and the tour overall.

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