Basketball: New Zealand reach semifinals at U19 World Cup
New Zealand trailed by six points at half-time, but a dominant third quarter saw the Kiwis take the lead and hold on for a famous win.
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Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
League makes way for RUNIT
For Hornby Panthers rugby league player Champ Betham, the pros of 'running it straight' outweigh any potential cons. Betham returned home this week from Dubai, after finishing third in the RUNIT Championship League, pocketing AU$25,000 (NZ$27,000) in prize money. It adds to the $20,000 he won at a trial in Auckland in May, qualifying him for the finals – meant to be held at Trusts Arena, which hosted the trials, before the venue pulled out due to safety concerns, and the finals were held in the Middle East. It is life-changing money for the 30-year-old and his growing family, which includes four children and a baby due in August. '(I'll be) stocking up the cupboards and fridges for my young babies, and prepping for my new boy, so (I'm) grateful for that,' he said. RUNIT is a full-contact collision sport where competitors sprint into each other, with the winner decided by who 'dominates the collision'. The format has drawn widespread criticism over its dangers, with sporting bodies and medical experts warning against participation. Last month, a Palmerston North teenager died after sustaining a brain injury while mimicking the sport with friends. At the Dubai event, former Kiwis rugby league international Kevin Proctor was knocked out and reportedly suffered a seizure during an exhibition match against Australian influencer Jordan Simi. Betham admitted there were risks involved, but believes they're no worse than those in other contact sports. 'It's almost like footy – in rugby league you pretty much run it straight from the kick-off, but you're not running into one person, you're running into three or four,' he said. "You've just got to try and prepare for it, and fingers crossed you don't come out knocked out.' He first heard about RUNIT through a friend of his partner, who was working as a videographer and graphic designer at the Auckland event. Organisers were looking for competitors from Christchurch, and Betham was keen. 'It got my attention straight away when I found out. It's pretty much just up the guts,' he said. 'Personally, I've been a guy who likes to crash and bang in the footy game. I didn't think I was going up to win, I was genuinely just giving it a shot.' After his surprise success, Betham is now considering whether he could make a career out of running it straight, especially with the potential for more events later this year. 'I definitely see myself doing it if it does go pro. I definitely think I could do it.' For now, Betham is back to his day job as a youth worker, with one heck of a story to tell people. 'All the kids were pretty shocked when they saw it, they were like, 'that's my youth worker, what the hell?'' He will likely not feature for Hornby in the CRL Premiership this season, wanting to save himself for RUNIT events.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Scott Dixon wins Indycar race for 21st consecutive season
picture id="4KBDZSY_cotty_png" crop="16x10" layout="full"]Scott Dixon has won his 59th career race. New Zealand driver Scott Dixon has won a race in Indycars for a 21st consecutive season. The 44-year-old won the Indy200 at Mid-Ohio, taking advantage of a mistake by championship leader and team-mate Alex Palou with five laps to go. Dixon, who started at ninth on the grid, won his 59th career race, holding out Palou over the final few laps. Dixon, who has six Indycars series to his credit, finished 0.421 seconds ahead of Palou for his first victory this year in the Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou made an error on turn nine with five laps to go when he went wide, slowing enough for Dixon to edge past. Christian Lundgaard finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.. Of the other Kiwis, Marcus Armstrong finished seventh, while Scott McLaughlin was 23rd. "It was definitely a tough race,'' Dixon said afterwards on the Sky Sport broadcast. "So much fun, to try and pull off what we did and deal with what we had was fantastic.'' He said he was just hoping his rear tyres would hold on over the last few laps. It was a big family outing for the Dixon family at Mid-Ohio with his mother Glenys visiting from Auckland. "She has been here a couple of months so finally it has paid off for her.'' It was also his youngest child, 5-year-old Kit's first Indycar event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
14 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Paddon, Kennard triumph
New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon and longtime co-driver John Kennard have taken a strong victory at Rally Queensland, held over the weekend near the town of Gympie. The Kiwis won five of yesterday's six stages, to end the day 42.5sec ahead of Lewis Bates and Anthony Mcloughlin in second place. Paddon and Kennard have each added 90 points to extend their lead on the championship points table. — APL
