Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post / Sport

Olympic kayaker survivies near-drowning

Rotorua Daily Post
14 Dec, 2012 03:55 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Olympic kayaker Mike Dawson has survived a horrific near drowning in a Chilean river.

The 26-year-old Waiariki Academy of Sport star was competing in the Whitewater Grand Prix, a seven-stage adventure race across rivers near the bottom of South America.

Dawson was busy taking action photos of his girlfriend, top Dutch paddler Martina Wegman, when he slipped and fell into the freezing Puesco section of the Trancura River.

"I was swept through a narrow slot and under a rock. I got pretty trapped and wedged under there and lost sight of daylight," Dawson said.

"I managed to push and force my way out but in the process inhaled water into my lungs. I had a bit of hypothermia, was also going into shock and couldn't seem to get my breath so they drove me to the nearest hospital and transferred me to a larger hospital straight away."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The accident happened shortly after Dawson won the first stage of the grand prix last week.

Dawson spent two days in intensive care, treated for a lung infection.


Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Medical staff also found a small stress fracture in his back, ruling him out for the rest of the Whitewater Grand Prix and keeping him off the water until March.

"I'm gutted I cant finish this event and had to pull out because things were feeling pretty good after the first stage but a three-month break may be a bit of a blessing in disguise.

"It's been a long, long season and this will be a great chance to take a bit of time off, refresh and work on some other projects.

"It may even be the perfect preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016."

Dawson became just the fourth New Zealander to compete in whitewater slalom at the Olympics when he paddled in London earlier this year.

His 15th placing was just one of a number of highlights as he competed in extreme races around the globe, using the prizemoney to help fund his Olympic campaign.

He won titles at the Teva Mountain Games in Colorado, the Green River Race in North Carolina and was third in the Adidas Sickline World Championships in Austria.

He will be cleared to fly out of Chile next week and plans on spending a relaxing Christmas in Holland, before heading back to the Bay of Plenty in mid-January.

"This is not the end of the world and I'm already looking forward to making my comeback at the New Zealand nationals over Easter."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Rotorua Daily Post

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM

Primary school Rocket League players qualify for major tournament finals in Australia.

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM
Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

24 Jun 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP