NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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.
Premium
Home / Sport

Rafting: New Zealander Suzy Cumming jumps to aid of struggling Australian opponent at world championship

Christopher Reive
By Christopher Reive
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald·
26 May, 2019 11:00 PM3 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

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The New Zealand under-23 women's team during the sprint race. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand under-23 women's team during the sprint race. Photo / Supplied

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A sense of relief washed over Suzy Cumming as she lay down her paddle and celebrated with her teammates.

After 36 gruelling minutes on Cairn's Tully River, the New Zealand under-23 women's rafting team had claimed victory in the fourth and final race of the world championships, finishing four seconds ahead of Australia.

But as the Kiwi team congratulated one another on a job well done, Cumming glanced back to the Australian team.

Something wasn't right.

"They weren't all good. They were all crowded around one of the girls. They had taken her helmet off and had an inhaler," Cumming told the Herald.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A nurse at Tauranga Hospital by trade, the 22-year-old's instincts took over. She asked her teammates to paddle over to the Australian team, before boarding the opposition raft to lend a hand.

After paddling through the long, demanding race, a member of the Australian team was having an asthma attack. Cumming knew she had to act.

Team New Zealand during the downriver race. Suzy Cumming is hanging out of the boat. Photo / Supplied
Team New Zealand during the downriver race. Suzy Cumming is hanging out of the boat. Photo / Supplied

"I didn't think twice about it," she says.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The team was all quite panic-stricken. I calmed everyone down a bit and helped the girl out; repositioned her because she was on the edge of the raft and could have fallen in the water. I repositioned her to kind of open up her airways and make sure her head wasn't dropping and gave her a bit of reassurance – calming her down and talking her through her breathing, administering her inhaler.

"By the time we got to shore her breathing had settled down a bit. There was a doctor on the shore and they called the paramedics. I stayed with her until the paramedics got there, then they took over."

Discover more

Cricket

The Boxing Day moment that changed the course of NZ cricket history

24 Dec 06:00 PM
NRL

Old videos and laughter: The last days of league legend Quentin Pongia

24 May 10:00 PM
Black Caps

Cricket World Cup All You Need to Know: The contenders and pretenders

25 May 06:00 PM
Sport|rugby

The Scout: The best of the weekend's First XV rugby

26 May 07:00 AM
The New Zealand under-23 team in training ahead of the world championship. Suzy Cumming is pictured second from the right. Photo / Supplied
The New Zealand under-23 team in training ahead of the world championship. Suzy Cumming is pictured second from the right. Photo / Supplied

Once they knew the Australian competitor was alright, Cumming and the Kiwi team got back to celebrating their race win. In winning the fourth race, the New Zealand crew claimed the overall silver medal for the competition, finishing 36 points shy of Indonesia in first place. The Australian team rounded out the top three.

It wasn't until the teams were on the podium that the two saw each other again and, while the teams were congratulating one another, the Australian athlete took the opportunity to thank Cumming for her help.

"She was looking a lot better on the podium than she was on the raft, that's for sure," Cumming says.

The New Zealand under-23 women's rafting team claimed the overall silver medal, after Indonesia. Australia finished third overall. Photo / Supplied
The New Zealand under-23 women's rafting team claimed the overall silver medal, after Indonesia. Australia finished third overall. Photo / Supplied

The under-23 women's crew was one of four Kiwi teams competing at the event. The under-23 men's team replicated the feat of the women in finishing second overall; the open women's team won the title, while the open men's team finished third.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Opinion

Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history

Sport

'The new baseline': Coverage of women's sport continues to grow

Sport

'Area of concern': Former Kiwi on Warriors' right-edge issue


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Premium
Premium
Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history
Opinion

Ranked: The 30 greatest fast bowlers in test history

OPINION: After over 500 tests, a Telegraph sage runs the rule on the best of the quicks.

16 Jul 04:01 AM
'The new baseline': Coverage of women's sport continues to grow
Sport

'The new baseline': Coverage of women's sport continues to grow

16 Jul 12:27 AM
'Area of concern': Former Kiwi on Warriors' right-edge issue
Sport

'Area of concern': Former Kiwi on Warriors' right-edge issue

15 Jul 11:30 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • 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