Aimee Fisher did things her own way and almost defeated Olympic champion Lisa Carrington. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Aimee Fisher's dreams didn't quite come true last week at Lake Karapiro. But when the kayaker opted to break free from New Zealand's high performance sport machine, that sunny autumn morning must have been close to any imagined best-case scenario.
Working outside the system for two years, Fisher almost upset the golden girl of that very system, vindicating her choice to go it alone.
Already a world champion - albeit in the absence of Lisa Carrington - Fisher's speed was never in doubt. But being able to attract such fanfare to a national trial spoke to the success of her approach.
Fisher's concerns about athlete welfare prompted her move, likely leaving at least one Olympic medal on the table in Tokyo, and on Thursday it was clear that it had been nothing but beneficial to her own welfare.
Moments after Carrington had barely held off her formidable challenge, Fisher spoke about how she was learning to love the person she called Aimee 2.0.
Free to work on that upgrade her way, the 27-year-old has clearly built something worth savouring.
It's not unusual for a Crusaders loss to be greeted with glee around New Zealand, aside of course from Cantabrians.
But there was one Cantabrian pretty excited by the defending champions' defeat by the Waratahs in Sydney, because Charlie Gamble had helped cause it.
The penalty the flanker won in the dying moments on Saturday night snuffed out the Crusaders's last chance, capping an eye-catching performance and marking a high point in his atypical route to the top.
Gamble was a schoolboy star in Christchurch and captained Canterbury's under-19 team, before injuries stalled his rise and left him looking for a change of scenery.
Like many Kiwis, that came in the Lucky Country, and now the 26-year-old is eyeing a Wallabies jersey when he becomes eligible next year.
Spurning a spot on the traditional New Zealand rugby production line was something of a (don't say it) gamble (smh) but his success should be celebrated. And not just because he helped take down the Crusaders.
It's easy to mock Super Rugby for its addiction to switching formats. And it's really, really easy to mock Super Rugby for settling on format in which eight of 12 teams make the playoffs. The 10th-placed Highlanders, 2-8 on the season, are still in little jeopardy.
But something good at least has come from this latest adjustment, even if it may have been 26 years overdue.
Top-level rugby in the Pacific Island isn't exactly an outside-the-box concept but the merit of the idea was immediately and unsurprisingly proven on Saturday in Suva.
There, we saw an atmosphere that must already rank among the best Super Rugby has seen - it's a low bar - as 15,000 fans celebrated Fijian Drua's first home game.
The result felt an afterthought, though the home side showed against the Highlanders they were already a tough out at ANZ Stadium.
What felt more relevant was seeing Super Rugby so fully and vocally embraced in a way it rarely is these days. Drua's point of difference adds so much colour to a competition that can seem monochrome when played only on both sides of the Tasman.
OK, this admittedly is not my area of expertise, but I'm fairly certain having a period isn't exactly 'doing things differently'.
Yet female athletes talking about it very much is, despite the impact it clearly can have on their athletic ability.
Beats me why sportswomen have in the past largely kept to themselves on such an influential issue. Can't imagine why anyone would feel less than comfortable discussing their period in an industry dominated by men in every facet at every level.
But leave it to Lydia Ko to care little about that when asked about the back tightness she struggled with during the final round of the Palos Verdes Championship.
The 25-year-old, who finished two shots off the pace, didn't hesitate to explain: "It's that time of the month," Ko said. "When that happens, my back gets really tight and I'm all twisted."
See, fellas? That wasn't so hard to hear. Ko, one of this country's most high-profile sportswomen, is helping to chip away out an outdated taboo not so much by being different, but by being herself.
The most entertaining piece of evidence in favour of taking a different tack may come from a TV show.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty - available on Neon in New Zealand - is approaching the finale of its first season amid a furore from the greats the series portrays.
The HBO docudrama about how Jerry Buss, Magic Johnson and co turned the Lakers into the one of the hottest shows in Los Angeles, Winning Time has copped criticism for its inaccuracies.
Legendary guard and executive Jerry West has even threatened to sue the producers and take his case all the way to the Supreme Court, which is exactly the way Show Jerry would behave.
But what West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar don't seem to appreciate is that any liberties taken have been in service of creating fantastic content.
The key part in a docudrama is the drama and Winning Time has an abundance of that, even if some may be manufactured. It's the best sports show since Friday Night Lights and can be just about as thrilling as those '80s Lakers teams.