Jack has the knack with an axe; along with back-to-back world titles and record

Tuesday, 13 June 2023

King Country farmer and former Taranaki Bulls rugby player Jack Jordan is now a back-to-back world champion axeman and new world record holder after winning the Stihl Timbersports World Trophy.

‘Back to Back Jack’ shattered the world record and won his second world title in a row, beating 16 top international axemen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, early on Sunday morning (New Zealand time).

The Stihl Timbersports World Trophy is like 20/20 cricket’s version of international wood chopping – a quick fire event with four disciplines back-to-back without stopping.

It’s suited to competitors with superior fitness and endurance as they make their way through knockout stages to the final showdown.

Jordan came from behind in the dramatic final seconds of the last standing block chop discipline to win the world title against Polish champion Michal Dubicki.

It was not just a personal best time for Jordan in the final, it was also a new world record of 53.65 seconds – more than a second quicker than the previous record Jordan set earlier in the competition and four seconds faster than the time he produced in the first heat of the competition, less than an hour earlier.

Jordan, who works on his family's 1600ha sheep and beef farm near Taumarunui, said the final was a nerve-wracking experience.

“It’s great to win it back-to-back, especially after winning it once, you get a feeling of how hard it actually is, so to come back here and win it again is excellent,” he said.

Anne Paterson, who hails from Greymouth, also made history in the Netherlands, becoming the first axe-woman to represent Aotearoa on the world stage.

Paterson completed the three-strong Kiwi team and came fourth in the Women’s World Trophy event.

It was the first time in the World Trophy’s 12-year history that an official women’s competition was held alongside the men’s competition – allowing New Zealand to send its national champ off to an international event for the first time.

Earlier, Stratford’s Sam Bellamy came third in a 12-strong field in the Rookies (under 21s) World Trophy competition – securing two personal best times on his way to the podium.

“The competition was bloody awesome to be fair,” he said.

“It went a lot better than I had expected. I had some pretty good times in the disciplines, which meant some personal bests.”