Anthony Bruce Kendall (born 27 June 1964) is a two-time Olympic medallist in

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

for New Zealand. He has served as an elected member of the

Howick Local Board Howick Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is overseen by the council's Howick Ward councillors. The board's administrative area includes the suburbs Pakuranga, Howick, Flat Bush, and East Tāmaki, and co ...

since 2019.

Yachting

Kendall's family are yachtsmen. He began sailing in the P-class and

Starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

before progressing to crewing

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and

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

s. When he was 14 he turned to

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

Olympics

Competing in boardsailing, Kendall's first medal was a bronze at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

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. At the

1988 Summer Olympics 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 ...

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, he improved to win the gold medal. Kendall also competed at the following Olympics in

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, just failing to win another medal due to faulty equipment. The fin on his Lechner board, which were supplied by the Olympic regatta organisers in those days, snapped in the third race.New Zealand's Greatest Olympians – Number 18: Bruce Kendall, New Zealand Herald, Auckland, 19 July 2016 5:00am At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

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, Kendall was a sailing coach for the New Zealand team. Kendall attempted to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in

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in the

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class with fellow former Olympic boardsailing representative Aaron McIntosh, but they were unsuccessful. Kendall is the older brother of

Barbara Kendall Barbara Anne Kendall (born 30 August 1967) is a former boardsailor from New Zealand. She competed at five Summer Olympic Games and won gold, silver and bronze medals. Biography Kendall was born in Papakura on 30 August 1967, the daughter of ...

, who is also an Olympic gold medallist. They are the only brother and sister to have achieved this feat for New Zealand.

Kimberly Birkenfeld

In 2002 Kimberly Birkenfeld, on a windsurfer, collided with a Yachting New Zealand motorboat driven by Kendall about one nautical mile from the Olympic sailing venue in

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, Greece. Birkenfeld hit the back left hand side of the motorboat, knocking her unconscious. Kendall then pulled Birkenfeld on board the motorboat and resuscitated her. In hospital, Birkenfeld remained unconscious for 30 days. She had suffered severe head and spinal injuries, and remained in hospital for two months. Since the accident Birkenfeld now has to rely on a wheelchair for travelling long distances, suffers shortness of breath, and struggles to speak. In 2004 she filed a $15 million claim against Kendall and Yachting NZ. The High Court limited compensation payable to Birkenfeld to the extent of Yachting NZ's insurance cover of $500,000. A stay of proceedings was also issued by the High Court halting Birkenfeld's case. In 2008 Birkenfeld unsuccessfully challenged the High Court decision in the Court of Appeal. She then appealed her case to the Supreme Court. In August 2009 the Supreme Court rejected her appeal.Olympian's seven-year battle over, Steve Hopkins, Sunday Star Times, Wellington, 29 August 2009

Coaching

In 2012 Kendall was the coach of the Hong Kong board sailing team.

Political career

Kendall is active within local body politics in East Auckland. He first stood for the

in the 2016 Auckland local elections, but was unsuccessful. Kendall stood again in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and was elected to the Board, representing the Pakuranga subdivision.

Awards and honours

In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kendall 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 boardsailing. He was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

in 2013.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kendall, Bruce 1964 births Living people New Zealand windsurfers New Zealand male sailors (sport) Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in sailing Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Sailors at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Windglider Sailors at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Division II Sailors at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Lechner A-390 Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Papakura