Absolute Kiwi Dominance at The Outrigger World Championships; Nine World Records and 79 Medals

This month at the 2016 IVF Va'a World Sprint Championships on the Sunshine Coast, New Zealand added a massive 79 new medals to its list of Waka Ama (outrigger canoeing) accolades. This included 30 gold and nine new world records, and just thinking about how many races that is in a short amount of time proves that in this sport, the Kiwis have the kind of absolute dominance Ethiopia has in middle distance running.

The race times clearly show NZ ownership on the water. The women's elite team won gold in all three categories raced: V12 500m, V6 1500m, and V6 500m. There were trifectas across the board, with the Kiwis taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placings in multiple events. Many of the races were cakewalks, with the victors finishing lengths ahead of the competition, for example the Junior Development women's team finished 12 seconds ahead of the Tahitians in the 1000m event. One paddler, Adrian Tukaki, beat an eight time world champion twice within 24 hours which is practically unheard of given the amount of work and effort that goes into a single race alone.

Unfortunately for the NZ Olympic Team, Waka Ama is not currently an Olympic or even a Commonwealth Games sport, as putting it on the world stage would see a much needed surge in hardware. Given New Zealand only have a total of 42 golds in the history of the Olympics, compared to Australia with 143 and the USA with 1073, it's about time some more numbers were on the boards.

Take a look at some of the highlights below.

Video credit : Vertigo Aerial Imaging

Video credit : Ian Rambo

Video credit : Ian Rambo

Waka Ama New Zealand website.