The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best premium stories of 2020. Today we take a look at some of the best sports stories from the past 12 months.
Chasing Kipchoge
It was described as world sport's equivalent of putting a man on the moon - the day Eliud Kipchoge achieved the "impossible" by running the first sub two-hour marathon.
On October 12 last year, the 35-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line in Vienna's Prater Park in 1:59:40, almost two minutes faster than the world record he set in Berlin in 2018 and - more importantly - at a breakneck pace of 2m 50s per kilometre.
Following the Kenyan's remarkable effort from Hamilton, NZME's Sport News Director Steven Holloway felt inspired to challenge a few mates to see who could run a kilometre the fastest.
"But it soon took on a life of its own."
Told by a doctor in 2017 he should never run again, the "broken-down" father of two started an arduous eight-week journey in an effort to emulate Kipchoge's astonishing attempt - over 1/42nd of the distance.
"For eight weeks, I trained every day... The point of this whole journey was to try help people understand how incredible Kipchoge's record-breaking run was. I had no idea what I was getting into," Holloway said.
This is Holloway's inspiring story.
The unforgettable tale of a Kiwi runner who lived (and died) twice
Life as he knew it ended for Kent on a nondescript stretch of road out the back of Waikato.
Left with no short-term memory and a partially paralysed body, the former schoolboy sports star faced a bleak future. Instead, with the help of his family and friends, he stitched together a new life built on two things that were in their own way indispensable: running and a diary that never left his side.
To those who didn't know him well, he was an ordinary Kiwi bloke who loved his kids and loved sport. To those who knew him better he was a source of inspiration.
My most intriguing characters: Dylan Cleaver's 25 years as a sports journo
Lockdown was an edgy time for sports writers. Denied the meat and drink of "the match", many had to look elsewhere for inspiration.
It is about 25 years, give or take a few weeks, since my byline first appeared atop a sports story. It'd be a stretch to say this with any confidence but I think it was a preview for a football match involving the Metro club and it probably appeared in either the Central Leader or the Auckland City Harbour News, old INL freesheets that graciously took on students one day a week. I can say with utmost confidence the story would not have been any good.
In the time since, I have covered and occasionally interviewed some characters. I was asked to consider some of the most intriguing personalities and/or careers I've followed.
These are the ones that spring to mind.
Chris Rattue: 30 years of friction - My unforgettable confrontations
I've been in this sports-writing game for more than three decades and one of the constants has been a running feud, on my part anyway, with New Zealand rugby.
But beyond this disdain for how the national sport is run, I also had lots of scraps with individual sports people back in the day.
Conflict. It used to be part and parcel of covering sport. And an editor suggested I should go down this memory lane and write a piece on some of those battles both big and small.
There are far too many to include here. Some, were just amusing. Others more significant.
Sometimes a scrap might lead to a lifelong feud. Other times it is quickly forgotten. Sometimes it affects how you cover a sport or person.
Chris Rattue reflects on his most memorable confrontations across his career.
The First XV of classic NZ rugby clubs
New Zealand has more than 500 rugby clubs, which makes selecting a 'First XV of classics' an endeavour sure to stir spirited discussion. Our selection criteria was based on All Blacks produced, championships won, history, uniqueness and rivalry.
We have tried to avoid, where possible, Marist clubs, High School Old Boys' and Varsity clubs because they represent massive institutions (the Catholic church; traditional single-sex state education networks; universities) rather than community.
Christchurch HSOB warrant a place on the list due to their unique reputation of being a first five factory and Otago University also makes an appearance through sheer weight of All Blacks and its indelible part of that particular province's rugby history.
The list is subjective and those clubs who feel aggrieved by their omission should write in for a potential redux in 2021.
Scroll through these 15 classic clubs whose battle for local supremacy remains as urgent as ever.
