Team Australia set back-to-back world records on the way to winning an unbelievable fifth consecutive STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Team World Championship - and their ninth in total. The Chopperoos cemented their status as the dominant force in elite logger sports in front of a packed and passionate crowd at the Zénith Toulouse Métropole in the South of France. The USA pushed Australia all the way in the Final but were forced to settle for silver, with Canada completing the podium places.
The Team World Championship saw 19 of the best wood chopping and sawing nations around the globe come together in front of a crowd of over 4,000 fanatic French fans to battle head-to-head in a knockout format across four of the six TIMBERSPORTS® disciplines: Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Single Buck, and Standing Block Chop.
With several personal bests set during the Time Trial, anticipation inside the arena had built to a fever pitch with those inside the Zénith Toulouse Métropole expecting more quick times.
Nothing could have prepared them for what they witnessed, however, with Australia powering to the title by going quicker with each round, culminating in world records in both the Semi Finals and Final.
Their Semi Final time of 43.64 was enough to blow away the Canadian challenge – no slouches on 51.34 seconds – and lower the previous world record by almost two seconds. The Chopperoos’ seemingly flawless performance put them into a Final against Team USA, with Australia incredibly going even better to break their own record and set a new world leading time of 43.15 seconds. Team USA pushed them all the way, doing all they could to clinch the crown, but settling for silver with a personal best time of 45.60.
Team Canada, vanquished by Australia in the Semi Final, were pitted against New Zealand in the Small Final, after the Kiwis were edged out of their Semi Final by eventual runners-up USA. In an exceptionally close contest, the Canadians pipped New Zealand to the final podium place with a time of 48.81 to 49.64.
Team Poland were the best of the rest, finishing in fifth – the highest of the European nations – after setting a personal best in a tight Quarter Final defeat to Canada. Meanwhile the host nation France
enjoyed electric support from the partisan crowd all night, with deafening renditions of La Marseillaise and chants of “Allez les Blues” booming constantly around the arena. They finished in a strong sixth position having beaten Belgium in an exciting Round of 16 before setting a personal best in their Quarter Final defeat to the USA.
Brad De Losa, of Team World Champions Australia, commented: “We never get tired of winning, we love it. It was great to get another win tonight and breaking the world record on two occasions was just awesome. It’s a credit to these boys, they dig in and everyone operates really professionally. We’ve had success in the past but everyone is still hungry and loves the winning feeling.
“The crowd here in Toulouse is one of the best we’ve ever seen, they created a really good atmosphere and it’s been awesome being here.”
Jason Lentz, of runners-up Team USA, said: “We always wish for gold but this is a great team, a great group of guys and it’s always a pleasure to cut with them. Australia are really tough, they’re hard to beat and it’s proven by the number of times they’ve won the trophy. It’s always an honour to come over here and compete at the highest level for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS®.”
Ben Cumberland, of bronze medalists Canada, said: “That was pretty incredible, we really came together as a team over the last few days and I couldn’t ask for more from the guys than a bronze medal. We 100% won the bronze rather than missing out on gold or silver.
“The crowd here was amazing and it was a blessing to be able to compete in front of these fans here in France today.”
Following a barnstorming Team competition, Saturday will see the top 12 athletes in the world return to the Zénith Toulouse Métropole to compete across all six disciplines in the Individual World Championship.
Full results and final standings for the Team World Championship can be found on the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® database.
