World champ coasts home in wooly coast-to-coast warm-up

World champ coasts home in wooly coast-to-coast warm-up

A Taranaki farmer and World champion had his biggest win of the season today, but doesn’t think it’ll affect his odds for the next big challenge – the Coast to Coast next Friday and Saturday.

Paul Avery, 44, won the North Island Shearing Championship in Marton, and immediately reffirmed his multi-sports debut is definitely on.

“I saw Steve Gurney on Tv a few years ago, and I thought that’s one of those things I’d just like to tick the box with in my life,” said Avery, who won the World Shearing title in Norway in 2008 and who has also twice won the Golden Shears open title.

He said he only went to Marton to get shearing circuit qualifying points, but he ended-up in one of the country’s fastest 20-sheep finals, in which he and two others each shore 20 sheep in under 15 minutes.

Te Kuiti shearer Digger Balme blasted them away in 14min 5.35sec, but his quality suffered, while Avery was more in control, finishing in 14min 57.59sec.
He eventually won by a comfortable 1.78pts from runner-up and Te Kuiti shearing icon David Fagan, who was last off but had his points reassessed to accommodate a machinery failure during the event.

Assuming he gets through the South Island traverse “without ending up in hospital,” Avery will be straight back into the shearing competitions at the Counties Shears on February 20, with eyes on a third Golden Shears title in Masterton a fortnight later

ENDS

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