Tokoroa's Dion Newth is the latest Māori world champion, capturing gold at the World BMX Racing World Challenge in France.
The Ngāti Raukawa 49-year-old won the 45-49 Men's Cruiser section, beating out 69 other competitors in his age group.
He says it's a dream come true and makes up for the heartbreak of 2019, when he crashed in the final of the championships in Belgium.
"That crash in 2019 just lit a fire inside me of determination to just to get up there because I knew that I was at an international level and I just needed to prove it.
"So during that whole Covid time I've just kept up my training and I've just got better, stronger, faster and I was able to prove myself over the week here. I'm world champ! I love it! It's what I've dreamed of," he told teaomaori.news from Nantes.
He trailed behind two others for much of the final but crafty track knowledge in the final corner saw him undercut the leaders and hold off on the sprint home to cross the line
Newth took up BMX racing as a nine-year-old. In 2005 he gave up competitive racing, but in 2015 he got back on his bike and says he hasn't looked back.
Dion Newth.
"It was for my mental health actually, it just gave me a bit of direction and, and fitness and it was something that I pursued when I was younger.
"And it's just snowballed from a hobby to a passion to like an obsession. And I just, yeah, it's hard to put into words I've just literally dedicated my life to training and competing in the last couple of years."
He joins an ever-growing list of sporting heroes that have come from the Waikato forestry town, including NRL and Kiwi superstar Joey Manu, Wallaby Quade Cooper, Scotland rugby player Sean Maitland.
He puts it down Tokoroa having a strong sporting culture.
"I'm just going to bathe in the glory," he laughs, "but I've always had a lot of support from the community, from my gym and just all my friends and that. They're always putting out their support, their comments, phone calls, everything. There's a lot of mana in Tokoroa, 886 proud!
"There's not really a lot to do but there's a lot of sporting clubs and it's just a big sporting culture. A lot of gyms, a rugby culture, a league culture and so I think it's just a breeding ground for top athletes.
The World Championship caps off an impressive year for Newth, who works as an engineer for a living, who has also won a North Island title, a national title, Oceania this year.
He isn't stopping there though, he says he isn't content to be a one-time world champion.
