New Zealand Olympic Committee celebrates most successful Games ever

Wrapping up its Tokyo Olympics campaign, the New Zealand Olympic Committee has welcomed its Games success, bringing home more medals than ever before.

The team departs Tokyo with 20 medals - seven gold, six silver and seven bronze, a total surpassing the previous record medal tally of 18, set by the team that competed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The most gold medals New Zealand has ever won at an Olympics is eight, in Los Angeles in 1984. This team to Tokyo team is next with seven, followed by the team in London in 2012 which won six.

The medals were won across 11 sports, including gymnastics (trampolining) for the first time with 11 of the 20 medals won by women.

By winning five medals in Tokyo, three of them gold, rowing confirmed itself as New Zealand’s most successful Olympic sport in terms of medals, with 29, followed by athletics (26), sailing (23) and canoeing (15).

The New Zealand team ranked 13th on the medal table in Tokyo, which the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) says compares well with recent Olympic Games - New Zealand was 19th in Rio, 15th in London in 2012, 27th in Beijing in 2008, 24th in Athens in 2004 and 46th in Sydney in 2000.

Rob Waddell, the team Chef de Mission, paid credit to all the team’s medallists, but also to other athletes who had arrived in Tokyo, often after unusually challenging journeys to qualify, and then performed at their best.

Waddell advised “while the medals are great, I’m proud of the entire team. I’d also like to acknowledge those who’ve done personal bests.

“You cannot ask more of an athlete than to turn up on the world’s biggest sports stage and perform up to and often beyond what they have achieved previously. We’ve seen that in so many sports where these things are measurable - swimming, diving, athletics, cycling, rowing, canoeing, weightlifting.”

New Zealand fielded its largest Olympic team ever in Tokyo - 222 athletes. The next biggest teams have been Rio (199), London (184), Beijing (182) and Athens (182). Our athletes competed in more than 700 sessions.

The oldest medal winner was Dame Valerie Adams at 36 while the youngest was women’s sevens gold medallist Risaleeana Pouri-Lane, who turned 21 in May.

There were huge numbers of outstanding performances by New Zealanders, but Lisa Carrington, with three gold medals (and a fourth placing in the K4 500), became New Zealand’s most medalled Olympic athlete ever.

NZOC President, Mike Stanley acknowledged the resilience and determination of the athletes, and their support teams going on to say “this has been the most challenging Olympic Games. I acknowledge all the training, planning and operational delivery that ensured our athletes began and finished these Olympic Games healthy and delivered the greatest performances our nation has seen

“I also thank the people of Japan to whom we are eternally grateful for overcoming so many challenges to ensure our athletes, and 11,000 others could fulfil their Olympic dreams.

“We also extend our thanks to HPSNZ, our performance delivery partner, who have been integral to preparing athletes for the challenging Tokyo campaign. We acknowledge Sport NZ along with other government agencies who have supported us through the pandemic and have made sure our athletes could access vital vaccinations and beds in MIQ on their return.”

New Zealand Team achievements:

• 222 athletes (116 men, 106 women)

• 700+ performances

• 20 medals - seven gold, six silver, seven bronze

• 61 New Zealand Team athletes won a medal (27%)

• 11 medal winning sports

• Continuous performance improvement over consecutive Games since 2000

• 12th on the Olympic Medal Table

• 93% of athletes achieved a top 16 finish

• 60% of athletes achieved a top 8 finish

• Greatest number of Olympic medals won by a New Zealand athlete (Lisa Carrington, 3 gold in Tokyo - total Olympic medals now 5 gold, 1 bronze)

• New Olympic sports Karate and Surfing contested by New Zealand

• First time New Zealand was represented in the Opening Ceremony by two flagbearers - Te Pou Hapai Tane David Nyika and Te Pou Hapai Wahine Sarah Hirini

• 25,000 visitors to NZHQ in Auckland - the first New Zealand-based Olympic fanzone

Image: Some of New Zealand's medal winners. Credit: NZOC.