NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Olympics

Olympics: New Zealand's foreign legion

Andrew Alderson
By Andrew Alderson
Reporter·Herald on Sunday·
7 Jul, 2012 05:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Dunedin's 12th Cadbury Chocolate Carnival opened yesterday with a number of paintings, in chocolate, of Kiwi Olympic greats unveiled. This one is of the 1972 gold medal-winning eight from the Munich Games. Photo / Supplied

Dunedin's 12th Cadbury Chocolate Carnival opened yesterday with a number of paintings, in chocolate, of Kiwi Olympic greats unveiled. This one is of the 1972 gold medal-winning eight from the Munich Games. Photo / Supplied

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

More than one in seven New Zealand athletes going to the London Olympics were born overseas.

Statistics provided to the Herald on Sunday by the New Zealand Olympic Committee show 27 out of the current tally of 181 athletes began life elsewhere.

Eight of the 27 were born in Britain, five in South Africa and three in Australia. Others were born in India, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and South Korea.

Most of the athletes, particularly those from Africa, came with families seeking a better life in New Zealand, sometimes from what might be considered oppressive regimes.

Others were the results of conception while Kiwis were on their OEs.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And in British-born Star sailor Jim Turner's case, he earned the moniker "Kiwi Jim" when he married a New Zealander. He has resided in the country for more than eight years after initially arriving for the 2003 America's Cup.

In a breakdown by sports, eight footballers were born overseas, as were four rowers, three swimmers, both female boxers and the two taekwondo participants.

The list of overseas births includes a couple of top medal hopes.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rower Mahe Drysdale was born in Melbourne, Australia. The five-time world champion and Beijing bronze medallist has a birth certificate that reads Alexander Mahe Owens Drysdale. The 33-year-old was conceived when his parents visited the Seychelles and enjoyed their time on the main island, Mahe.

Cyclist Linda Villumsen is another born offshore, in Herning, Denmark. The 27-year-old became a New Zealand citizen in 2009. The ex-Dane shapes as a medal contender in the 29km road time trial. Her last three world championship results have been silver in 2011 and bronze in 2010 and 2009.

Former New Zealand Olympic Committee secretary-general Barry Maister said he never gave such matters a thought during his tenure.

"That's a fascinating piece of research. I'm not sure if it's a trend over time because we used to just pick the teams on merit and didn't go to that level of detail. Our main objective was to ensure they had a New Zealand passport, which made them fair game for selection.

Discover more

Olympics

Shooting: Taylor's Olympic selection confirmed

07 Jul 05:00 AM
Sport

Swimming: Kiwis pipped for second in age group test

07 Jul 05:24 AM
Opinion

Herald on Sunday Editorial: Runner's Games spot is a joke

07 Jul 05:30 PM
Olympics

Triathlon: Home's where the start is for our top athletes

07 Jul 05:30 PM

"It probably reflects general demographic trends with the arrival in recent years of a number of South Africans, but also people's migration due to sport. Take Linda Villumsen. She could appreciate New Zealand had developed an excellent cycling programme and realised it was a place she could further her career."

NZOC's Ashley Abbott said the research echoes current trends in New Zealand society.

"We are becoming more cosmopolitan. Most of the athletes came here as children, were brought up to believe they were New Zealanders and are proud to wear the silver fern."

Forty (22 per cent) members of the team were born in Auckland, 34 (19 per cent) in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty and 18 (10 per cent) in Wellington and Wairarapa. Twenty-nine athletes (16 per cent) were born in the South Island.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Olympics

Olympics

Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold

29 Jun 10:44 PM
Olympics

The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers

23 Jun 06:29 PM
Olympics

'It was different': Dame Lisa Carrington on end of remarkable 16-year streak

07 Jun 10:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Olympics

Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold

Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold

29 Jun 10:44 PM

The Kiwi won his first World Cup gold in Czechia.

The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers

The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers

23 Jun 06:29 PM
'It was different': Dame Lisa Carrington on end of remarkable 16-year streak

'It was different': Dame Lisa Carrington on end of remarkable 16-year streak

07 Jun 10:00 PM
Premium
Woodman-Wickliffe on babies, books, broadcasting and King’s Birthday honour

Woodman-Wickliffe on babies, books, broadcasting and King’s Birthday honour

02 Jun 03:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP