The good and the great of 2016
In a stellar year for New Zealand sport, Marc Hinton lists his top 10 performances.
1 Mahe Drysdale’s gold in rowing’s single scull at Rio Olympics
Classy, gutsy, nerveless. And triumphant. Drysdale had to dig as deep as he possibly ever has, but the 37-year-old Kiwi sporting great found the energy and strength in his final few thrusts to nudge out Croatian Damir Martin by the barest of margins − they were credited with the same time of 6m 41.34s, but the New Zealander got it by half a bow ball.
That made it back-to-back Olympic golds for Drysdale in the most thrilling and exacting of circumstances. Would probably have been a hat-trick but for sickness in Beijing in 2008.
2 All Blacks sweep the Rugby Championship and add a record 18th test win in row
For a glorious couple of months in the middle of the year Steve Hansen’s All Blacks were playing the rugby of gods, sweeping all before them with a devastating mix of high-tempo attacking brilliance and unyielding defensive fortitude. They won all six Rugby Championship fixtures with bonus points, scored 38 tries to five, 262 points to 84 and had an average scoreline of 44-14.
Then, after a few early staggers against the Wallabies in the addon Bledisloe at Eden Park, they roared home 37-10 to establish a record for consecutive test victories by a top-tier nation. Yes, they ran out of puff a bit in November, but for glorious spell through August, September and October they were simply breathtaking in their brilliance.
3 Lydia Ko wins a second major, Olympic silver and retains her world No 1 status
We expect so much from this fabulous young woman that it’s easy to mistake the exceptional for the run of the mill.
And, yes, she did finish the year in rather uncertain circumstances, with sub-par efforts in her last two majors, five tournaments without a top-10 finish till the season finale, and being pipped by Thai Ariya Jutanugarn for the major LPGA silverware. She also sacked her coach and caddie, and faced questions about the influence of her parents.
But, um, in 24 LPGA Tour tournaments she did win four times, had 14 top-10s and banked $3.56 million in earnings. She also won a major, had two other topthrees in the bigs and retained the world No 1 ranking through the year. And won a memorable silver in Rio.
4 Peter Burling and Blair Tuke win gold in the 49er in Rio
These two scintillating sailors have dominated their class since having to settle for silver in London, losing just one regatta over the four-year span heading into a Rio campaign that was deemed their signature event. They did not disappoint, dominating from go to whoa as they secured the gold medal with a race to spare, and adding the exclamation point to one of the most dominant periods their sport has seen.
Even better for Kiwi sports fans, the dynamic duo now jump straight into the Team New Zealand America’s boat where their skill and nautical knowledge will be crucial factors in the quest to bring the Auld Mug back home.
5 Hamish Bond and Eric Murray defend gold and go eight years undefeated
Another year, another clean sweep for rowing’s perfect pair.
They had not been beaten in a major regatta since they teamed up in the wake of the 2008 Games in Beijing, and that incredible record never looked like being broken as they sashayed through the buildup campaign to another dominant Olympic gold in Rio. Their grip on their division might be taken for granted, but it shouldn’t be. Between Bond’s remarkable rhythm and Murray’s unrestrained power, they were once again smoke on the water in 2016.
6 Joseph Parker outpoints Andy Ruiz to claim vacant WBO heavyweight boxing crown
Yes, it’s just one of four organisations that put up belts, and there are question marks about the quality of the Mexican. But it’s still a world boxing title. And Ruiz still had to be beaten for Parker to become the first Kiwiborn boxer to secure one, as well as take another step towards his aim of unifying the division.
But Parker is now very much one of the division’s true heavyhitters.
The bout had its controversy, with some disputing Parker’s unconvincing majority verdict, but it was a result that puts him on the pathway to something very special indeed.
7 Lisa Carrington’s gold in the canoe sprint K1 200m in Rio
Could she repeat her triumph from London four years ago? Could she continue her dominance of the sprint event through the Olympic cycle? The Kiwi queen of the kayak answered emphatically in the affirmative in Rio when she powered to a memorable gold in the short distance solo dash.
She couldn’t quite make it a golden double when she had to settle for a bronze in the K1 500m, but still became the first Kiwi woman to win multiple medals at the same Games, and joined Val Adams and Barbara Kendall as NZ’S only female triple medallists. Pure class.
8 Tom Walsh’s special year in shot put
OK, he didn’t win Olympic gold. But still a body of work that saw him annex a first world indoors championship in March, claim Olympic bronze in Rio and then end his season by storming to his first Diamond League series title is not to be sniffed at.
Ryan Crouser threw much further than him when it mattered in the Olympic final, but the burly Cantab was top two in every other event he contested in 2016, had powered past the 22-metre mark by year end and had set up what shapes to be a rivalry for the ages with the American Olympic champ. Doesn’t hurt either that he’s a terrific bloke.
9 Steven Adams comes of age in the NBA playoffs and earns a $140m contract extension
This one is a little out of the box as New Zealand’s 23-year-old NBA star didn’t win anything notable, with his Oklahoma City Thunder beaten in seven games in a memorable Western Conference Finals series by the Golden State Warriors, after leading 3-1.
But Adams emerged as a bona fide quality big man during the Thunder’s playoff run, going for four double-doubles in the 4-2 conference semifinal upset over the Spurs, then averaging 10 points and just under nine boards in the agonising defeat to the Warriors.
That emergence was rewarded with a four-year, US$100M (NZ$140M) contract extension that kicks in next season − making him soon to be NZ’S richest sportsman by some distance. Started the new season promisingly too, averaging 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds up till Christmas.
10 The feelgood Olympic bronze medals of Nick Willis and Eliza Mccartney in Rio
It’s almost impossible to separate these two efforts from Kiwi track and field athletes at either end of the spectrum.
At 33, no one really expected Willis to back up on the silver he won in Beijing in 2008, especially against the quality Africans who dominate his event.
But the veteran got himself in the shape of his life and in a slowly run final and a frantic finish he showed a remarkable kick to snatch bronze to become the oldest Olympic medallist in the blue riband event.
Then there was Mccartney, just 19 in Rio, at her first major championship, coming through with the series of her life to grab the bronze (and so very nearly the gold) with a national recordequalling 4.80m. The youngster enjoyed every moment of her Rio fairytale and with her beaming smile and remarkable poise leapt her way into Kiwi sporting folklore. Better is to come, for sure, but this was some start.