Simon Lyle Wi Rutene (born 10 March 1966) is an

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

from

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 ...

. He has competed for New Zealand at four Olympics. He decided to be a ski racer at 12, and went to a U.S. ski resort on his own. At 16 he was sponsored, and did his first downhill run at Wengen, Switzerland. In the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

at Sarajevo, he came 36th in the Giant Slalom. In the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary, he came 17th in the Slalom. He was the flagbearer at the opening ceremony. In the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

at Albertville, he came 42nd in the Super G and 28th in the Giant Slalom. In the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

at Lillehammer, he came 20th in skiing combined, 23rd in the Downhill Combined and 18th in the Slalom Combined. Wi Rutene retired from skiing in 1998. Wi Rutene is an enrolled barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and holds a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

in Maori business and a Post Graduate certificate in career counselling psychology.

Politics

In the 2005 general election he was a list candidate for the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. He was ranked fourth on the party list. The party gained four MPs at that election, but all from electorate seats and Wi Rutene was not elected.

References

* ''Mountain Mover'' by Bruce Ansley in ''The New Zealand Listener'', 29 August 1987, pp. 20–23 Volume 118 No 2480. * ''Black Gold'' by Ron Palenski (2008, 2004 New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Dunedin) p. 108

External links

* * Living people 1966 births New Zealand male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for New Zealand Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Te Pāti Māori politicians 21st-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Māori sportspeople Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election New Zealand sportsperson-politicians {{NewZealand-politician-stub