Jason Wynyard Explained

Jason Wynyard
Birth Date:14 November 1973
Birth Place:Te Awamutu, New Zealand
Hometown:Kawakawa, New Zealand
Education:Waitākere College
Height:1.95 m
Weight:134 kg
Relatives:Tai Wynyard (son)
Country:New Zealand
Sport:Woodchopping

Jason Wynyard (14 November 1973 – 4 October 2023) was a New Zealand champion woodchopper from Kawakawa. He won over a hundred world titles in the sport,[1] including the individual world championship nine times.[2] [3] He holds the world record for single buck (with assistant) with a time of 9.39 seconds in 2007.[4]

Wynyard won the Stihl Timbersports Series 14 times. He won the title in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

In the 2017 New Year Honours, Wynyard was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the sport of woodchopping.[5]

Personal life and death

Wynyard was born in Te Awamutu on 14 November 1973.[6] [7] Of Māori ancestry, he affiliated to the Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāpuhi iwi. He was educated at Waitākere College.

Wynyard was the father of former University of Kentucky men's basketball player Tai Wynyard.[8]

In May 2023, it was announced that Wynyard had been diagnosed with stage 4 Burkitt lymphoma,[9] and after undergoing aggressive treatment he was advised by doctors on 18 August that he had only weeks to live.[10] He died on 4 October 2023, at the age of 49.[11]

Notes and References

  1. News: Smith. Tony . 12 February 2021. Māori Sports Awards: Lisa Carrington judged most influential Māori sports star since 1991. stuff.co.nz. 12 February 2021.
  2. News: Hutching . Gerard . Kiwi Jason Wynyard best in world at chopping, sawing timber . 31 December 2020 . Stuff . 7 November 2017 . en.
  3. Web site: Jason WYNYARD – STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Database . data.stihl-timbersports.com . 31 December 2020.
  4. Web site: Records – STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Database . data.stihl-timbersports.com . 31 December 2020.
  5. Web site: New Year honours list 2017 . 31 December 2016 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 6 July 2019.
  6. News: 16 December 2022 . Te Awamutu’s most famous recognised on Walk of Fame . Waikato Herald . 4 October 2023.
  7. News: Malcouronne . Peter . 5 October 2023 . Remembering Jason Wynyard: Cuttin’ for your country . . 10 October 2023.
  8. News: Medcalf . Myron . 'The Michael Jordan of lumberjacks' motivates his son, a Kentucky reserve . 31 December 2020 . ESPN.com . 1 February 2017 . en.
  9. News: Kiwi wood chopping great Jason Wynyard diagnosed with aggressive form of cancer . 11 May 2023 . . 19 September 2023.
  10. News: Woodchopping legend Jason Wynyard given weeks to live, turns to alternative treatments in cancer battle . Grant . Chapman . 19 September 2023 . . 19 September 2023.
  11. News: Kiwi wood-chopping great Jason Wynyard dies after battle with aggressive cancer . 4 October 2023 . . 4 October 2023.