Hat-trick woodchopper Jack Jordan wins Stihl Timbersports World Trophy

Jack Jordan has won the Stihl Timbesports World Trophy for the third year in a row. Photo / Stihl Timbersports

New Zealand’s top axeman, Jack Jordan, has just won the Stihl Timbersports World Trophy for the third year in a row — shattering his own world record time in the process.

Jordan, a King Country farmer formerly of Taranaki, put on a Timbersports masterclass in Milan, Italy, to beat a top international 16-strong field of the best axemen to win the title for the third year in a row.

The Stihl Timbersports World Trophy format is a quick-fire event with four back-to-back disciplines. Jordan’s three-peat was almost denied by Australian Brad De Losa in a dramatic semifinal where the Kiwi edged the Aussie by the smallest of margins.

In a virtual dead heat, Jordan squeezed into the final with a time of 57.65, just 0.32 seconds faster than De Losa. But in the final event against Czech opponent Matyas Klima, Jordan opened up a gap during the second discipline and never looked back.

Jack Jordan in action during the Stihl Timbersports World Trophy 2024 in Milano, Italy. Photo / Stihl Timbersports

It was not only a personal best time for Jordan in the final, but a new world record of 52.53 seconds — more than a second quicker than the record he set last year.

Jordan, a former rugby player for the Taranaki Bulls who also manages the family sheep and beef farm at Kirikau 20 minutes from Taumarunui, said his natural fitness and long hours of woodchopping training were the key to his dominance in this event.

“It’s a short, sharp endurance test all right. All the training that I do at home, I feel like that’s the secret. I truly believe that when you’re in an event like this, you win it in your backyard at home. It’s pretty awesome to knock this one off three times in a row for sure.”

Earlier, Cleveland Cherry, of Tokoroa, was third in a 12-strong field in the Stihl Timbersports Rookies (under-21s) World Trophy competition — going one better than his previous fourth place the last time he contested this event, in 2022.

“It’s great to get on the podium and have a little hardware to show for all the hard work that goes into getting here. I’m pretty stoked.”