Mairead Fox, who averages throws of 32m, hopes to do New Zealand proud at the World Boot Throwing Championships in Italy. Photo / NZME.
Mairead Fox, who averages throws of 32m, hopes to do New Zealand proud at the World Boot Throwing Championships in Italy. Photo / NZME.
A team of Kiwis is jetting to Italy this weekend aiming for glory at the World Boot Throwing Championships.
Dunedin nurse Mairead Fox and Auckland-based Olympic and Commonwealth Games decathlete Brent Newdick will take part in the gumboot-throwing competition in Ascoli Piceno, near Rome.
The pair will compete against nationalchampions from across Europe with New Zealand being the only Southern Hemisphere representative at the contest.
Ms Fox won the chance to compete with a 28m throw at the New Zealand Rural Games in Queenstown in February, and has been practising in preparation for the championships.
"I've been putting in an hour of training every day, either down at the beach or on a rugby field. I've had a little bit of coaching on technique and have gone from an average throw of 28m to 32m, but I want to keep making gains," she said.
Mr Newdick had the best throw at the Queenstown games but had to compete at the men's national finals in Taihape in March, where he won with a winning heave of 48.5m.
"Getting into gumboot throwing was a bit of an accident really - I just happened to be in Queenstown when it was on. I immediately threw the boot like a discus," he said.
The New Zealand Boot Throwing Association announced yesterday that New Zealand would be represented in Italy by a team dubbed the Kiwi Black Boots. Association president Elizabeth Mortland will join the team alongside technical adviser Colin Baird and Ms Fox's father, Jack.
