New Zealand Olympic medallists's success for

New Zealand at the Olympics New Zealand first sent an independent team to the Olympics in 1920 Summer Olympics, 1920. Prior to this, at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics, New Zealand and Australia at the Olympics, Australian athletes competed together ...

is often considered to be notable due to the relatively small population of the country ( million as of ). Being located in the remote South Pacific, New Zealanders needed to endure long sea voyages to attend the early Olympics. It was not until the VII Olympiad in 1920 that New Zealand sent its first team. Prior to that, three New Zealanders won medals competing for Australasian teams in 1908 and 1912. On only two occasions since 1920 has New Zealand failed to win a medal at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, in 1948 at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in 1980 at

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, when only four competitors were sent as a result of the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...

. New Zealand has had a much smaller participation in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, due to the country's

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

climate, not generally experiencing the severe winters to lowland levels, common in many countries in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. The first New Zealand team to attend a Winter Olympics was in 1952. The nation has only won medals at three Winter games, in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. The sporting rivalry between New Zealand and bigger neighbour

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

has been evident at many Olympic Games. In 1984, some Australian media outlets poked fun at the New Zealand gold medallists, saying they had been sitting down on the job at the Los Angeles Games, where they were successful in canoeing, equestrian, rowing and sailing. The New Zealand media pointed out that New Zealand had finished 8th on the final medals table, and Australia only 14th. New Zealand has finished higher than Australia on the medals table at the Summer Olympics only in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, when Australia failed to win a gold medal, and Los Angeles in 1984.

Medallists

At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Bruce Biddle Bruce William Biddle (born 2 November 1948 in Warkworth) is a former road racing cyclist from New Zealand, who was a professional rider from 1974 to 1979. He won the gold medal in the men's individual road race at the 1970 Commonwealth Games i ...

originally finished fourth in the cycling road race. When the original Bronze medallist was subsequently disqualified for drug usage, Biddle should have been placed third. However he was not awarded the Bronze medal as he had not been asked to take a drugs test. Despite the continued efforts of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

refused to overturn its decision.

Pre-NZOC medals

Milestones

*First medal (by a New Zealander): Victor Lindberg ''(1900, for Great Britain)'' *First gold medal (by a New Zealander): Victor Lindberg ''(1900, for Great Britain)'' *First medal (for New Zealand): Darcy Hadfield ''(1920)'' *First gold medal (for New Zealand): Ted Morgan ''(1928)'' *First female medallist: Yvette Williams ''(1952)'' *First female gold medallist: Yvette Williams ''(1952)'' *First double medallist: Peter Snell ''(1960, 1964)'' *First double gold medallist: Peter Snell ''(1960, 1964)'' *First triple medallist: Peter Snell ''(1960, 1964)'' *First triple gold medallist: Peter Snell ''(1960, 1964)'' *First quadruple medallists: Ian Ferguson & Paul McDonald ''(1984, 1988)'' *First quadruple gold medallist: Ian Ferguson ''(1984, 1988)'' *First quintuple medallist: Ian Ferguson & Paul McDonald ''(1984, 1988)'' *First Winter medallist: Annelise Coberger ''(1992)'' *First female double medallist: Vicky Latta ''(1992, 1996)'' *First female triple medallist: Barbara Kendall ''(1992, 1996, 2000)'' *First female double gold medallists: Caroline & Georgina Evers-Swindell ''(2004, 2008)'' *First male Winter medallist: Nico Porteous ''(2018)'' *First female quadruple medallist: Valerie Adams ''(2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First female quintuple medallist: Lisa Carrington ''(2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First female triple gold medallist: Lisa Carrington ''(2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First female quadruple gold medallist: Lisa Carrington ''(2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First sextuple medallist: Lisa Carrington ''(2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First quintuple gold medallist: Lisa Carrington ''(2012, 2016, 2020)'' *First Winter gold medallist: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ''(2022)'' *First Winter double medallist: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ''(2018, 2022)'' *First Winter triple medallist: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott ''(2018, 2022)'' *First male Winter gold medallist: Nico Porteous ''(2018)'' *First male Winter double medallist: Nico Porteous ''(2018, 2022)''

Youngest medallists

The following table lists all Olympic medals won by New Zealanders 20 years or younger.

Oldest medallists

The following table lists all Olympic medals won by New Zealanders 36 years and older.

Most successful Olympians

New Zealanders who have won two or more gold medals, or three or more medals total:

References

{{Lists of New Zealanders Olympic medallists

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

es:Nueva Zelanda en los Juegos Olímpicos