Sport
1News

Tokyo officially NZ's greatest ever Olympic performance

New Zealand have consistently improved their performance at the Olympic Games in the past 20 years.

Two silver medals won late last night by track cyclists Ellesse Andrews and Campbell Stewart has taken New Zealand's medal haul at the Tokyo Olympics to 19, surpassing the record haul of 18 achieved at Rio five years ago.

It is a stunning achievement by the nation's athletes, given the struggle to train and compete at the Games amid a global pandemic, not to mention the absence of some of New Zealand's greatest Olympians, and the waning careers of the likes of Dame Valerie Adams and Nick Willis.

These were supposed to be a transitional Games, where some bright prospects got to cut their teeth on the biggest stage, and some legendary veterans competed for the final time.

Yet, this has been one full of shocks and surprises, overachievement and excellence from the New Zealand team.

It began with a bronze medal victory from triathlete Hayden Wilde , a relative unknown to most Kiwi households. His ability to fight through the heat and overcome some of the world's best was something to be admired, and he touched hearts around the nation as he broke down in tears paying tribute to his late father.

It set a precedent for the rest of the team. The rowers, who had made headlines in the build-up to the Games for controversially changing combinations and dropping two-time gold medallist Mahe Drysdale, went on to achieve the best single-Games performance from a New Zealand rowing squad, winning three golds and two silver medals.

That was headlined by a shock victory by the men's eight , who had barely qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the first place, and the amazing perseverence of Emma Twigg, who put fourth place finishes in London and Rio behind her to storm to her first Olympic gold medal.

It sparked upsets across the board, as Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell did the impossible, winning bronze in the men's tennis doubles, New Zealand's first medal in the sport and the first by a Kiwi since Anthony Wilding won bronze in 1912 while representing Australasia.

Shortly after, trampolinist Dylan Schmidt jumped onto the podium , winning New Zealand's first ever gymnastics medal with a breathtaking performance.

On the rugby field, the All Blacks and Black Ferns Sevens put their Rio disappointments behind them, winning silver and gold respectively. The determination from the Black Ferns in particular to come back from such a low moment to win gold five years later was something to be admired.

Dame Valerie Adams then bowed out of her sensational career in style , winning bronze at age 36, having had two children since Rio.

Dame Valerie Adams reacts after winning bronze in the women's shot put final.

Yet who knew the best was still to come. Welcome to the party Lisa Carrington.

There had been plenty of hype around the already-two-time Olympic gold medallist competing in four events in Tokyo. Hype is one thing, but living up to it is a whole 'nother story.

The 32-year-old was simply unstoppable on the water, completely dominating a world-class field to win three golds in as many days . It will already go down as arguably the greatest ever Olympic performance by a Kiwi athlete and she still has time to win a fourth, with the K4 500m still remaining.

Kiwi boxer David Nyika has advanced to the heavyweight semi-finals at Tokyo 2020.

Her first two began a stream of medals on what will be remembered as Titanic Tuesday as boxer David Nyika won bronze and sailing pair Peter Burling and Blair Tuke took silver after a thrilling medal race in the 49er .

Upon winning her third gold of the Games on Thursday, Carrington became New Zealand's most decorated Olympian with five golds and a bronze, surpassing fellow canoe sprinter Ian Ferguson.

After today’s gold medal, she's overtaken another kayaker, Ian Ferguson, as the kiwi Olympian with the most medals and the most golds.

Tom Walsh's bronze in the shotput backed up his performance from Rio and took the New Zealand team to the precipice of history.

They didn't have to wait long.

While there was success elsewhere, the heat was starting to turn up on the track cycling team. The sport receives the second most funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand (behind rowing), pocketing more than $4 million a year. 

When the men's pursuit team — seen as the most likely medallists —  crashed out miserably in their bronze medal race against Australia , it looked like another disappointing Olympic performance inside the velodrome was on the cards.

But in a remarkable hour last night, that all changed. It wasn't the usual candidates either, but rather a pair of youthful Olympic rookies —  Ellesse Andrews and Campbell Stewart  — who endured through the pain and sped through to earn silver medals in the keirin and omnium.

Stewart's medal took the tally to 19, creating history. 

And there could still be more to come. Carrington's fourth medal looms , while Lydia Ko is in the mix on the golf course . The cyclists are not finished either, with three days of racing still to come.

Let us not forget those who may not have medalled, but went above and beyond expectations. The OlyWhites won their first Olympic game, advanced from the group, won another, and nearly progressed to the semifinals had it not been for a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to hosts Japan.

Personal bests by some of the younger members of the team — David Liti, Lewis Clareburt, Erika Fairweather, Hamish Kerr, Anton Down-Jenkins, and Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie — also made the nation burst with pride and sets them up for exciting careers down the road.

Whatever happens, this will be an Olympic Games to remember. It began under a cloud of scrutiny, but ends in a shimmer of gold.

Ka pai Aotearoa.

SHARE ME

More Stories