Reaching for the Stars: What Makes a Champion?

“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” – Thomas Edison

Beijing 2022 unveils official emblems - Olympic NewsWith Nico Porteous winning Gold and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott winning a gold and silver medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics, New Zealand has had its best medal haul at a Winter Olympics for 70 years!

But what makes someone so good at what they do, that they go on to win a world title or an Olympic medal? Are they born like it? Do they have really good coaches or dedicated parents? Do they like what they do so much that they practise A LOT? Or is it a combination of all these things?

If you want to take up a sport, learn a musical instrument or learn to paint or write… any skill really…here’s a few tips to help achieve your goals

Brown Wooden Blocks on White Table

Image: Pexels

  1. Start with something you love – this might take a wee bit of time to figure out, but you’ll know it when you find it! Maybe you could try doing lots of different sports or activities offered at your school or community centre to see what really ‘floats your boat’. Be prepared to give new things a go.
  2. Practise, practise, practise! All those amazing athletes, musicians, innovators, writers and artists don’t get to where they are today by not practising. Sometimes this might seem really boring or hard (especially when you think your friends are having a good time and you’re stuck practising), but it’ll be worth it in the end. And it’s exciting when all that practice pays off and you see yourself getting better and better! Kia kaha!
  3. Persevere! There will be times when you have failures or feel like you’re not getting any better. As the saying goes: “Keep Calm and Try, Try and Try Again.”
  4. Have faith in yourself! And make sure you encourage others on you team that are struggling. You’ve got this!
  5. Listen to your coach or teacher. They’re a coach/teacher for a reason – they know stuff! Your coach wants to see you improve so do the exercises and drills they set and turn up to practise sessions and lessons.
  6. Always stick to the rules and play fairly. You will feel good about yourself and you’ll be a good role model for others.

Links to get you thinking:

Beijing 2022 – NZ Team

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame

New Zealand Book Award Winners 2021

New Zealand Chamber Music Contest 2022

Halberg Awards

Weetbix Kids’ Trythlon

The Wonder Project

YMCA NZ

Science Kids


Books to inspire:

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame : 25 Kiwi champions / Maria Gill ; illustrated by Marco Ivancic. / Gill, Maria
“Features 25 famous New Zealand sportspeople across a wide range of different sporting disciplines. Includes a caricature, an action photograph, a profile of the person, timeline, inspirational quote, description of the sport, training regime and trophy board”–Publisher’s information.” (Catalogue)

Rising above. Inspiring women in sports / Zuckerman, Gregory
“These are the inspirational real-life stories of female superstar athletes Serena and Venus Williams, Simone Biles, Carli Lloyd, and more — role models all. For sports fans, aspiring athletes and readers of sports biographies. The athletes featured in this book met earth-shaking challenges head on, and through hard work and perseverance, went on to conquer the sports world. This collection of mini biographies, complete with first-hand content drawn from interviews, is a source of inspiration and self-empowerment for kids and sports fans of all ages. ”  (Catalogue, abridged)

I am, I can : 365 affirmations for kids / Kinder, Wynne
“I am strong. I am brave. I can handle anything. Using the power of positive thinking, children can build their self-esteem and resilience by focusing on what matters to them and remembering to champion themselves.” (Catalogue)
Skateboarding champion / Nixon, James
“This series is all about the exhilarating world of extreme sports and what it takes to become a top professional. Each title lists the essential equipment you need and examines the basic skills, before going on to look at the more demanding tricks and stunts. There are also profiles of some of the greatest names in the sport, the biggest competitions in the world and the most fearsome locations that these daring competitors come up against. BMX Champion opens up the world of BMX biking, both racing and freestyle. Techniques, facts, stats and competitor profiles grab young readers’ attention and ensure a thrilling read from cover to cover.” (Catalogue)

The bomb / Cotter, Sacha
“In this story about being true to oneself, a boy searches for the secret to doing the perfect bomb into the water. With training from Nan, an expert and former champion, and by listening to his own voice, he finds his unique style and pulls off a wonderful, acrobatic, truly awe-inspiring bomb”–Publisher information.” (Catalogue)

The flea thing / Falkner, Brian
“Twelve-year-old Daniel has a secret that turns his life upside down when he wins a place on the New Zealand Warrior’s rugby league team. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.” (Catalogue)

Volleyball ace / Rodriguez, Cindy L.
“Until now, Layla has balanced her school work and volleyball easily enough. At high school, though, academic expectations are tougher. When Layla’s dedication to volleyball puts her maths test results at risk, her chances of making the school team next year are on the line. Can she find a way to ace her classes like she does on the court?” (Catalogue)
The soccer star / Rippin, Sally
“Billie wants to play soccer, but the boys at school say she can’t. How can Billie prove that girls can play soccer too?” (Book cover)

Raising an amazing musician : you, your child and music.

Whatever stage of learning your child has reached, Raising an Amazing Musician will empower you to make the right decisions for your young musician, and enrich their experience of music as an enjoyable, life-enhancing activity.

Black music greats / Cachin, Olivier
“The biggest names… The coolest sounds… The 40 most inspirational movers, shakers and innovators in black music history are here! Learn how these black musicians changed music in this book packed with incredible facts. Meet the Godfather of Funk, the High Priestess of Soul and the King of Reggae. Learn how Marvin Gaye shaped the sound of Motown, how N.W.A redefined rap, and what made the Supremes, supreme. Each artist is an icon of their age, but who will you add to your playlist?” (Catalogue)

Be a super awesome artist / Carroll, Henry
“Become a super-awesome artist with this fantastic new book. Using real examples of art for inspiration, this great book features 20 exciting art challenges to help you create your own masterpieces. Channel the artistic genius within and you’ll be painting like Pollock, doodling like Duchamp and creating like Kahlo in no time!” (Catalogue)

This book thinks you’re a scientist : experiment, imagine, create : fill-in pages for your ideas / Russell, Harriet
“This book thinks you’re a scientist. Get into it before anyone tells it otherwise! Inside you’ll do everything a scientist does: look, ask questions, wonder and test your ideas. You’ll also do things scientists don’t necessarily do: eat your experiments, levitate paper clips and play a drinking straw like an oboe. There are even portable laboratory pages for you to experiment on, so that by the end, you’ll know how to invent your own fun ways of finding out about the world.” (Catalogue)

5 New children’s non-fiction to read during November.

You might be thinking ahead to the summer holidays, but that’s no reason not too keep filling your head with cool facts and amazing information. Here’s some great new non-fiction to cram into your heads (not actually – we’d rather like it if you read and returned them to the library instead)

 

image courtesy of syndeticsOrigami Festivals Divali.

I realise it’s a little late, but this is a great book to have on hand for Diwali next year. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated for five days with various activities and food. This book explores the festival and the story behind it and features six simple origami projects for your own festive fun! The book shows how people around the world decorate their homes with lights and rangoli patterns, and how they end the Diwali celebration with a special day for brothers and sisters.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsAnimation lab for kids : fun projects for visual storytelling and making art move.

In Animation Lab for Kids, artists, teachers, and authors Laura Bellmont and Emily Brink present exciting, fun, hands-on projects that teach kids a range of animation techniques.

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Olympic Games.

This book brings you all the excitement of the biggest multi-sport event in the world. Comes complete with dramatic photos of competitors in action and charming illustrations telling the story of the Olympics.

 

 

 

Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire’s Book of Greek myths.image courtesy of syndetics

An introduction to the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece includes all of the D’Aulaires’ original detailed illustrations. In a relaxed and humorous tone, these splendid artists bring to life the myths that have inspired great European literature and art through the ages.

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsSuch stuff : a story-maker’s inspiration.

A wise Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This book beautifully chronicles Michael Morpurgo’s journey to becoming one of the greatest of Children’s literature to date. In this book, he shares his insights and dreams to reveal some of the fascinating ingredients he uses to create the tales we love.

 

 

7 new children’s non fiction about deadly beasts, famous people and cooking up a storm!

Kids, the school holidays are flying by and the library has some new and exciting non fiction books for your viewing and reading pleasure. So come on down and grab books about deadly beast that roamed the earth a million years ago, as well as some that only exist in the world of fiction and fantasy; famous people who changed the world and cooking up a storm in the comfort of your own kitchen where the world of Science and The Gruffalo comes to life that will make your tummy rumble.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsDay of the Dinosaurs.

Travel back in time to a period where dinosaurs roamed the earth. This amazing book features eye catching illustrations, as well as information about dinosaurs in terms of diet, how they lived on land, water and in the skies, as well as how they defended themselves and their territory  from four different prehistoric periods: the Triassic, the early Jurassic, the Late Jurassic and the Cretaceous. This is a thrilling read for any budding palaeontologist.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsAtlas of Animal Adventures.

Prepare for a  journey of amazing discovery. Featured in this is an amazing collection of images and information about every animal known to existence, as well as nature’s most unmissable events from between the two poles, including epic migrations, extraordinary behaviours, and Herculean habits.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsGruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes.

Delights such as  Owl Ice Cream, Scrambled Snake, Roasted Fox, and of course… Gruffalo Crumble from the lovable picture, The Gruffalo comes life with this awesome cookbook, filled with recipes and ideas for every meal, that is bound to keep Gruffalo fans of all ages busy in the kitchen. Other tasty favourite that catch eye are caterpillar twists, orange eyes and even a Gruffalo cake. With this book, you are all set for a Gruffalo themed morning/afternoon tea, birthday part or even a Halloween party. These tasty delights are already starting to make my tummy rumble!

 

image courtesy of syndetics.How to draw orcs, goblins, and other wicked creatures.

Where the world of orcs, goblins and artistic creations collide. This simple and easy to read book will teach readers how to draw orcs, goblins, hags, and several other wicked fantasy creatures where you will be able to bring your own Lord of the Rings to life.

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsFrida Kahlo : the artist in the blue house.

The artwork and the photographs of Frida Kahlo comes to life with this gorgeous new art book with a charming narrative and fascinating pictures that provide an engaging introduction to the life of Frida Kahlo and her creations.

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsScience Experiments you can eat.

Dig into a feast of fun where you’re the scientist and the kitchen is your laboratory. This book that gives you all everything you need where you can test your science theories, make some amazing discoveries and eat your results!  Includes information on how to make rock candy, grape jelly, cupcakes, and popcorn.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsNadia : the girl who couldnt sit still.

A cute and easy to read biography of the young Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci. This book goes into full detail of how some of the ways her energy got her into trouble as a child, how she became involved in gymnastics, and how practice and determination led her to become an Olympic champion. This is the greatest picture book biography since Different like Coco.

Rio 2016 Paralympics review

This year at the Paralympic Games the New Zealand team absolutely nailed it! In fact, we came 13th place overall – rather impressive for a country with such a small population!

Our incredible athletes did particularly well in the athletics and swimming events, making up for a whopping 19 out of our total 21 medals. Lets have a look at our medal winners…….

Sophie Pascoe, our very own swimming sensation, made history as the most successful New Zealand Paralympian ever. Sophie won gold medals in the women’s 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley, as well as silver medals in both the women’s 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle.

Nikita Howarth, New Zealand’s youngest ever Paralympian, also won multiple medals in the pool, scoring herself a gold medal in the women’s 200m individual medley and a bronze in the 50m butterfly.

Other successful New Zealand swimmers are Mary Fisher, who came first in the women’s 100m backstroke, Cameron Leslie, who earned gold in the men’s 150m individual medley, and Rebecca Dubber who won a bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke.

Now onto the athletic wins. Liam Malone, the dude on blades, came first in the men’s 200m sprint as well as the men’s 400m, and second in the 100m, earning him two golds and a silver medal.

William Stedman won multiple medals in running events too, coming third in both the men’s 400m and the men’s 800m.

Rory McSweeney also won a bronze medal in the men’s javelin throw.

Several of our female paralympians also had success in the athletic category. Anna Grimaldi won gold in the women’s long jump, Holly Robinson scored silver in the women’s javelin throw, and Jessica Hamill came in at third place in the women’s shot put event.

And lets not forget cycling duo Emma Foy and Laura Thompson who won silver in the women’s individual pursuit at the end of week one, and bronze in the women’s road race in week two.

What a fantastic couple of weeks we had at the Paralympic Games 2016 in Rio. The New Zealand team did an amazing job and managed to smash the target of 18 medals, winning 21 overall. Huge congratulations to all the athletes for their hard work and dedication, you have done our country proud!

 

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games: History

The 2016 Olympics finished less than a month ago, but already we are on to the next biggest worldwide sporting event: the Paralympic Games.

Like the Olympics, the Paralympics give athletes with disabilities from all around the world the opportunity to compete for international success.

The disabilities of competitors in the Paralympic Games are wide ranging and are divided into categories and classifications. Some examples include people in wheelchairs, people with missing limbs, blind people, and people with an intellectual disability like down syndrome or autism, just to name a few.

Before the first official Paralympic Games was held in Italy in 1960, athletes with disabilities participated in the Olympics. However, smaller competitions like the International Wheelchair Games held in 1948 and 1952 were so popular that an organised event especially for athletes with disabilities was needed.

At first, only wheelchair-bound people could compete, but this changed in 1976 when athletes with lots of different disabilities were included in the Paralympics.

Nowadays, the Summer and Winter Paralympics happen on the same year and in the same country as the Olympic Games, usually very shortly after.

This year the Paralympics, which started yesterday, is held in Rio, Brazil. Head over to the Rio Paralympic Games website to check out the sports and to keep track of the medal board.

The New Zealand Paralympic team has 31 athletes in the team this year, who will be competing against over 4,000 others from nearly 180 countries around the globe. TVNZ will also be showing the Paralympics on TV for the first time in 10 years, so keep an eye out for our Kiwis in black and wish them well!

 

The Modern Olympics

You might think the Olympics are over, but the countdown to the Paralympics has only just begun. These games, for athletes with impaired physical abilities, start on 7th September in the same place as the Olympics – Rio De Janerio.

 

While we wait, here is some cool info on the Modern Olympics. You can read our post about the Ancient History of the Olympics to catch up.

 

The ancient Olympic games officially began in 776 BC in Greece and occurred every four years, or Olympiads, ending in 393 AD (after about 1000 years) because they were considered a pagan practice.

Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator, believed in the importance of physical education, and in international competition. Coubertin helped to revive the idea of the olympic games in the 1890s and was a founding member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894.

The modern olympic games began with the 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Olympic_ringA couple of well known symbols that are used to promote the games are the olympic flag and the olympic flame. The rings on the Olympic flag represent the five parts of the world: the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

 

 

The number of sports that are played in the current olympics are much higher and more diverse than at the ancient olympic games; they include archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby sevens, sailing, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

And that’s just the summer olympics! The winter olympics are held every four years as well, the next one will be in 2018 in PyeongChang, Korea. The sports at the winter olympics are all done in snow or ice; skiing, bobsleigh, curling, skating, ice hockey, luge, ski jumping, and snowboarding.

 

Check out this Enyclopaedia Britannica article about the history of the Olympic games! (You’ll need your library card to login)

 

Want to know more? Find these books in your local library:

Syndetics book coverThe story of the Olympics : the wacky facts about the Olympics and Olympic champions down the centuries! by Richard Brassey
“Records and reputations, cheats and champs, victors and venues – here’s the lowdown on the modern Olympic games, from bestselling author and illustrator, Richard Brassey. From the games of ancient Greece to the twenty-first century, and with individual tales of heroes and heroines, this is a lively, witty and entertaining guide for young readers everywhere. As always with Richard Brassey’s popular books, this is packed with comic strips, fact boxes, hilarious captions and speech bubbles, plus amazing information and entertaining insight.” (Syndetics summary)

 

Syndetics book coverThe Olympics : ancient and modern by Joe Fullman
The Olympics Ancient to Modern is a fascinating look at the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, from the first events in Ancient Greece right the way up to London 2012 and Sochi 2014. It focusses on when and where each Games has been held, and some key stats, such as how much it cost, how many athletes competed, and how many spectators came to watch.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

 

Syndetics book coverModern Olympic Games by Haydn Middleton
“‘The Olympics’ tells you all about the world’s greatest sporting festival. From ancient Greece to the 21st century, you will read about the winners, losers, triumphs, and tragedies of the Olympic Games.” (Syndetics summary)

 

 

 

Overdrive book coverThe Olympics by Graham Douglas (eBook)
“The Olympic Games: a major international amateur sporting competition that brings together hundreds of nations and thousands of athletes. This book is a collection of fun, facts and figures about the Games (from ancient to modern times) for sports lovers all over the world. ‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well’ Pierre de Coubertin.” (Syndetics summary)

The ancient history of the Olympics

Syndetics book cover

The Olympic games began in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC (that’s almost 3000 years ago!). It was a sporting competition to celebrate excellence and honour the god Zeus.

The first few olympics just had a running race and only lasted one day, but more events got added on later and it became a five day event. Because ancient Greece would often have conflicts going on between city-states there would be a sacred truce (Ekecheiria) during the games so that athletes and spectators could travel to and from Olympia safely.

 

 

 

Competitors from all over Greece and sometimes beyond would compete in sporting events including foot-races (running), the pentathlon (running, long jump, discus, javelin and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, the pankration, and equestrian races (horse and chariot). Pankration is a combination of boxing and wresting and was a particularly brutal event.

Fun Fact: the participants would also compete naked! In fact the Greek word for nude was gymnós which is where our word for gymnasiums comes from.

The ancient olympics also did not allow women to compete in the events, and only unmarried women were allowed to be spectators. Despite this, in 396 BC Kyniska of Sparta became the first female Olympic victor for the chariot race, because the owners of the horses were considered the winners of the race, not the riders.

Instead of receiving gold, silver and bronze medals, there was only one victor in each of the events and they were rewarded with a wreath (wild olive leaf crown), and of course the glory and honour of being an olympic victor (in other words – bragging rights!)

In 393 AD the new Roman emperor and Christian, Theodosius, banned the olympic games because he considered them a pagan practice. So ended 1,000 years of tradition, during which 293 olympics games were held. That is until Pierre de Coubertin, a French academic and historian, pushed to resurrect them and so began the modern olympic games in 1896 Athens, Greece.

 

Want to know more? Find these books in your local library:

Syndetics book coverThe first Olympics of ancient Greece by Lisa M. Bolt Simons

“In ancient Greece different city-states often fought one another in deadly battles. But every four years the Greeks set aside their differences to honor the gods and compete peacefully in the Olympic Games. Learn all about the athletes, competitions, and religious ceremonies of the ancient Olympics.” (Syndetics summary)

 

 

Syndetics book coverOlympics by Richard Platt
“‘In the same spirit as the previous Through Time titles, this book explores the evolution of the Olympic Games, from its ancient origins to modern times. The chronological format allows the reader to experience life in many diverse cities and cultures during different historical periods. Through Time: The Olympic Games tells the complete story of history’s most famous, and most international, sporting competition. The narrative runs from city to city, exploring the impact of the Games on each host nation as well as the key social, political and cultural events of the time. Woven into this narrative are all the major sporting highlights, facts and record-breakers.” (Syndetics summary)

 

 

Flaming Olympics by Michael Coleman

This hilarious guide tells readers everything they need to know, from the torture of Olympic training, to some of the best performances dating back as far as 776 BC.

 

Olympic Games 2016 review

Olympics Week One round up for Team Kiwi!

On the morning of Friday 12 August as we slept, kiwi rowers Eric Murray and Hamish Bond won New Zealand’s first gold medal of this years Olympics in Rio. The duo also won gold at the last Olympic Games in London in 2012, when they set a world record. In fact, Eric and Hamish have been working so hard over the last few years that they have been undefeated in the last 69 races they have competed in. Phew, that’s a lot of wins! Lets have a look at how the rest of the New Zealand team did….

 

Mahe Drysdale also received a gold medal in rowing when he defended his first place title in the men’s single sculls in week two of the Games. Mahe, who went to school in Tauranga, won gold in the same event at the 2012 London Olympics, and is a five-time world champion.

In yet another rowing win, Genevieve Behrent and Rebecca Scown claimed a silver medal in the women’s pair event. This is the second medal for Rebecca, who won bronze in 2012, and a great comeback for Genevieve, who returned to rowing last year after taking a break in 2014.

 

Another successful Olympian from Tauranga, Luuka Jones scored a silver medal for her amazing efforts in the K1 canoe slalom, where competitors have to paddle downriver and upriver through hanging gates. Luuka came in at 14th place four years ago at the London Olympics, so she must have been training hard.

Natalie Rooney made Olympic history at the beginning of the first week when she won a silver medal in the women’s shooting event . Natalie, from South Canterbury, achieved the best shooting result ever for New Zealand after her Aussie competitor bet her by one point.

 

A silver medal was also awarded to Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins of the New Zealand track cycling team. Ethan, Sam and Eddie, who came first in the Cycling World Championships in March, said they were very proud to win silver after the British team beat them by less than a second to snap up the gold.

This was the fourth Olympics for well-known kiwi athlete Valerie Adams, who won a silver medal this year for shot put. Valerie had been the world’s top women’s shot putter for the last 10 years, having won gold in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but was beaten by her American competitor who set a national record at this years Games.

 

Finishing off our silver medal winning streak is the New Zealand women’s rugby Sevens team, who came in at second place after their game against Australia. The team, who are Rugby World Cup champions, played a great game, with member Portia Woodman toping the scoring charts for the Olympic events.

 

A huge well-done and congratulations to all our talented and dedicated Olympic athletes, you have done New Zealand proud!

Check out the library catalogue and the New Zealand Olympics website for more information.

 

Rowing at the Olympics

Want to find out about Olympic sports? Here’s some cool info about Rowing; a sport that New Zealand is very good at.

 

Rowing is a boating sport, contested by both men and women at the Olympics. There are two types of rowing events, sculling where the athletes use an oar in each hand and sweep rowing where athletes use both hands to hold one oar. All races are over a distance of 2000 metres.

Rowing is a sport that requires both endurance and coordination. Races usually feature a sprint over the first 500 metres and another over the final 500 metres where stroke rates can be around 47 per minutes. Wow, that sounds exhausting.

 

Rowing first gained popularity as a sport in England in the early 1700s. By the 1800s it had spread throughout Europe and the United States and often features teams from the finest schools and universities. Oxford and Cambridge became traditional rivals in England and Yale and Harvard became rivals in the United States.

Rowing made its Olympic debut as a men’s sport in the 1900 and has remained on the programme ever since. Women’s rowing events were introduced in 1976.

 

It is a very exciting time for Rowing New Zealand as we have qualified the largest ever team to compete in this years Olympics and for the first time ever we have a women’s eight and men’s lightweight four competing. In previous Olympics New Zealand has won 9 Gold, 2 Silver and 10 Bronze medals and we hope that we will add to this number during these games.

Some of the stars of our New Zealand team are Eric Murray and Hamish Bond in the men’s pair and Mahe Drysdale in the men’s single scull but you can check out all the athletes from the rowing team here.

Go New Zealand!!

New Zealand’s Olympic Heroes

New Zealand’s Olympic story began in 1908 and over the years Kiwi athletes have given us many memorable moments and have earned New Zealand the reputation for punching above its weight.

Our first Olympians competed as part of an ‘Australasian’ team in 1908 where Harry Kerr from Taranaki won our first medal with a bronze in the 3500m walk.

Our first official New Zealand team was in 1920 which included only four athletes. Darcy Hadfield was part of this team and he won a bronze medal in the single sculls.

New Zealand’s first individual gold medal winner was won by Ted Morgan in boxing at Amsterdam in 1928. And Yvette William became our first women gold medal winner in the long jump at the 1952 Helsinki games.

 

New Zealand has excelled in a variety of sports at different times. In the 1960s our runners did well. In the late 1960s and 1970s rowing became very successful. The 1980s saw a rise in New Zealand water sports such as canoeing, swimming and sailing. The 1980s and 1990s was a great time for our equestrians and in the 1990s our cyclist began to make their mark.

Some of our more notable Olympic medal winners include Peter Snell. He won three Olympic gold medals in track & field and in 2000 he was voted New Zealand Athlete of the Century. John Walker was our great miler, winning gold in the 1500m race (often consider the glamour event of the track & field) at the 1976 Montreal Olympic.

Then there is Ian Ferguson our canoeing great. Few New Zealanders have competed in more Olympic Games and no one has won as many medals or as many golds.

 

Lets not forget our current gold medal winners that are competing at the Rio Olympics now. Greats such at Valerie Adams, Lisa Carrington, Mahe Drysdale, and Mark Todd

If you would like to learn more about our great medal winning athletes as well as all our other athletes competing at the Rio games then click here.

Go New Zealand!!!