Nico Porteous stepping away ahead of Winter Olympics
Two-time Winter Olympic Games medalist Nico Porteous won't wear the silver fern again as the 23-year-old announced he was stepping out of competition. He isn't calling it a retirement but he is stepping away from competitive free-ski halfpipe eight months out from the next Winter Olympics. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.
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Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Porteous going in a new direction
Wanaka wonder Nico Porteous has no regrets as he closes the book on a big chapter in his life. The two-time Winter Olympic medallist announced yesterday he was stepping back from the freeski halfpipe and Olympic competition, as he looked to explore new opportunities including his passion in film. While Porteous — New Zealand's most successful male snow sports athlete and defending Olympic champion — will walk away from the halfpipe, he intends to maintain his level of skiing and explore other avenues, including Natural Selection Ski. The 23-year-old loved representing New Zealand and told the Otago Daily Times he was content with his decision. "I feel really good," he said. "Since making this decision last year it's sort of just been sitting on it and wanted to make sure that it was the right one. "I feel really comfortable around that and it's been nice." Confirming his future eight months out from the 2026 Winter Olympics, Porteous said he had been skiing for more than half his life, having started at 10. "All I've known is competitive skiing. "Naturally over time your views and your goals change ... and that's sort of where I feel I am today. "My competitive passion maybe has changed slightly and my goals are different. "I feel that it was the right time to step away while I was still healthy and able to make that decision on my own terms rather than being forced out." Porteous made history when he won halfpipe gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. It added to the bronze he won as a 16-year-old in PyeongChang in 2018. Among his accolades are two X-Games gold medals, a world championship title and five World Cup medals. Olympic glory was top of the list — "I don't think much can top that" — but Porteous was also proud of the moments that did not result in medals. "One that stands out that wasn't maybe on the results front is ... being able to experience all the times that I got with my brother, Miguel. "Getting to compete alongside him, and being able to share those moments with your family is pretty unique." Having the support of his hometown, Wanaka, had been special and he counted himself lucky to call it home. Alongside skiing, Porteous' other passion lay with filming and producing videos, several of which he has released on YouTube, including Step One last year. It is an area he plans to move into, including working on gear and product design. "That's something that I'm really passionate about." Videos had always been a huge part of snow sports, and they inspired Porteous growing up, he said. "It was just a natural progression to move more into making them myself." Porteous, who has recently been based in Tokyo, will return home next month for the upcoming season.
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Netball: Mystics hold off late Magic charge in error ridden game
Catherine Hall (left) of the Mystics and Saviour Tui of the Magic. Photo: Aaron Gillions / The Mystics have beaten the Magic 40-38 in a defence heavy game in Auckland to inch towards the top of the ANZ Premiership ladder. The Tactix sit just above them, courtesy of a bonus point. A Magic win would have seen them leapfrog the Pulse to third on the table, instead they sit just one point adrift in fourth, thanks to picking up a bonus point for finishing within five of the Mystics. Despite the Magic finishing with a whooping 35 turnovers they managed to stick close enough with the Mystics. Shooter Saviour Tui nailed three super-shots in the final five minutes and suddenly the Magic threatened to pull off an unlikely comeback. But a turnover gifted the ball back to the Mystics and they steadied the ship. In the first meeting between the two sides this season, there were no surprises in the starting line-ups of either team. On the back of brilliant performances against the Pulse the round before Michaela Sokolich-Beatson started at goal defence and 20-year-old Sophia Lafaiali'i at goal shoot. The Mystics came out firing and forced the Magic to call a time-out when they were trailing 6-nil. The Magic finally got on the board and clawed their way back but the Mystics led 12-8 after the first quarter. The Magic were scrappy but somehow got within two of the Mystics before Filda Vui sunk a two-pointer on the half-time buzzer and the home side led 21-17. Defence from both sides was tight and reflected in a very low scoring game. Mystics goal keep Catherine Hall was brilliant in picking up lots of ball and Sokolich-Beatson kept Magic captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio quiet. The Mystics led 32-25 going into the final spell. Lafaiali'i put up 26 goals in the 54 minutes she was on court. Tui put up 23 goals but needed better ball delivery from her team-mates.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
Olympic freeski champion Nico Porteous changes career direction
Nico Porteous has won Olympic, X Games and world championship titles. Photo: AFP Olympic champion Nico Porteous will never stop pushing the boundaries on the slopes, but the competitive streak has waned and he is stepping away from freeski halfpipe in a natural career change . Porteous, 23, is New Zealand's most successful male snowsports athlete and one of the most decorated halfpipe athletes in history. At times in his competitive career, he has felt the pressure of expectation, but now he skis for the fun of it. He has Olympic, X Games and world championship titles, and World Cup medals, but in his words, he has nothing left to achieve as a competitive athlete. "That's why I felt so free to make the decision that I have made," Porteous said. "I achieved everything that I wanted to and I'm really proud of that." Porteous spent more than half his life chasing success on the snow. He started as a 10-year-old, following older brother Miguel, as he chased back-to-back winters, training and competing at Breckenridge in the USA and Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand, balancing sports commitments with schoolwork. A lot has changed. "Your thinking changes, the way you look at life changes and I have followed that natural progression," Porteous said of his decision to move on from wearing silver fern on the international stage. "In the later stages there, I just lost that competitive drive and competitive passion, and found other areas of skiing that I really enjoyed." At 14, Porteous became the first New Zealander and youngest person in the world to land a triple cork 1440. Two years later, he was an Olympic bronze-medallist and a junior world champion. The following season, he claimed the first World Cup medal of his career - a silver. He then won a bronze medal at X Games Aspen and finished in second on the 2018-19 freeski halfpipe World Cup tour rankings - the best ever result at the time for a New Zealand male in the FIS Freeski rankings. Zoe Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous show off their 2018 Winter Olympics bronze medals. Photo: PHOTOSPORT At the 2021 X Games Aspen, Porteous won New Zealand's first gold medal in freeski superpipe, with a run he had worked on for 18 months that contained a trick and a trick combo - a right 1620 combined with the left 1620 - that had never been landed in competition before. He continued his success during that 2021 season to become the freeski halfpipe world champion, the first time a New Zealander had held this title. In 2022, he won X Games freeski superpipe gold and followed that up with an freeski halfpipe gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Last year, he claimed silver at the 2024 Aspen X Games, after taking a break from competing in 2023. Porteous' success as a teenager opened New Zealanders' eyes to what was possible from his generation of snowsports athletes, but it also took over his life. "It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of everything," he said. "It just consumes you and and it's all you think about 24/7. "I definitely was feeling pressure. Everything that I do, I want to do my best at it and give it my all, and having that expectation can sometimes lead to some pretty stressful environments." Porteous put his head down and tried to drown out the external noise. "I think there definitely was some external pressure, but also internal pressure as well, throughout the whole time." Another Winter Olympics was not on Porteous' mind, when he announced he was leaving competitive freeskiing eight months out from the next Games at Milan. "It was just when I felt like it was right," he said. "It was on my own terms." Porteous is taking note of the up-and-coming New Zealand talent that will hopefully have success similar to his. "The success that we've seen in the past season has been crazy," he said. "All credit to those guys, they're incredible and I think it's really exciting the new era that we're coming into." With his competitive days now behind him, Porteous said he was in good shape and was not slowing down. From now on, Nico Porteous will move into different forms of skiing. Photo: PhotoSport "I'm still pushing myself every single day and skiing at the highest level I can. There's been a couple injuries along the way, but everybody goes through injuries, and I'm lucky that I'm still young and my body feels good. "By no means am I done pushing the limit skiing." Over the past couple of years, Porteous has moved into a different area of skiing - one that involves showing off his skills for the camera. "Working with videographers and producing films of me skiing, I've really enjoyed that side of skiing and it's something that, we're lucky in our sport, it can be another career path." He has also managed and produced some events, and worked on product development with some of the sponsors he built relationships with while competing. Porteous still spends a lot of time in skis. "I just go skiing for fun," he said. "It's what I love to do. "It's my passion and it's my hobby as well, just as much as it's my career. "I go out skiing, more often than not, just for fun." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
