Gregory Thomas Yelavich (born 8 March 1957) is a competitive pistol shooter from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. As well as winning numerous national pistol titles, Yelavich has the distinction of having won more

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

medals than any other New Zealander (12). He was the New Zealand flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. He has represented New Zealand at two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

—

Seoul 1988 The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and

Barcelona 1992 The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 1990, Yelavich was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the

1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to sport. Yelavich competes in

International Shooting Sport Federation The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun (clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic shooting sport events. ISSF's activities include regula ...

ISSF pistol shooting events.

References

External links

* * * * * * * 1957 births Living people New Zealand male sport shooters Commonwealth Games medallists in shooting Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Shooters at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Olympic shooters for New Zealand Shooters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Auckland New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand people of Croatian descent Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games {{NewZealand-sportshooting-bio-stub