As part of the Herald’s On The Up series, we’re celebrating the top 100 Kiwi sporting moments of the millennium. There are incredible achievements, but also the small one-off touches of brilliance that set our sporting souls alight – from match-defining catches and tries, to gold-medal triumphs and
On The Up: Counting down the top 100 Kiwi sporting moments of the past 25 years: 100-81
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100) Black Sticks women finally strike gold, 2018
After six swings and misses at Commonwealth Games glory, the Black Sticks created history by securing gold in Gold Coast, the result made even better by denying the Aussies victory on their home turf. Hockey had debuted at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and New Zealand had endured some devastating moments. The 4-2 penalty-stroke loss in Delhi after a 2-2 draw to Australia in the final was probably the worst.
Years of “almosts” and “so closes” were transplanted by a confidence which stunned their opponents into submission in 2018. Late in the third quarter, Split Enz’ History Never Repeats boomed over the public address system as New Zealand went 3-0 up. That proved a prophetic anthem. Australia, a team who had won the title on four of the five previous occasions, were bound for defeat. – AA
99) Mark Richardson beats Darren Lehmann in a 100m sprint race, 2004
No one remembers that Australia won the second cricket test at the Adelaide Oval by 213 runs. The New Zealand pace bowlers would certainly like to forget, after failing to take a wicket in the entire match as the Ricky Ponting-led Australian side secured a 2-0 series win.
But the true highlight of the entire series was the 100m sprint between the two sides’ slowest men – Mark Richardson in the beige corner and Lehmann in the canary yellow.
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Both sported full body suits, though Darren Lehmann chose to wear a T-shirt over the top. Richardson navigated the keg hurdle near the end and ran away to victory by at least five metres. Sadly, the tradition didn’t live on as cricketers took nutrition and fitness more seriously as the century went on. – CM
98) Black Sox win World Championships, 2004
This result sealed the first three-peat in softball history. It was the twilight of the sport’s golden era in this country, with the tournament broadcast live on free-to-air television and attracting good crowds in Christchurch. Veteran Mark Sorensen provided the fairy-tale moment, with his three-run homer in the final against Canada setting the Black Sox on course for victory.
Sorensen had retired three years earlier – after three world titles – but the lure of a home World Championships prompted a comeback. The team also had to overcome the loss of star pitcher Marty Grant – then rated as the best in the world – just two days before the start of the tournament, as he suffered a freak calf injury in training. – MB
97) Team NZ get back on the foils, 2021
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli won three of the opening five races of the 2021 America’s Cup and Kiwis feared the Auld Mug and the regatta were to be stripped from our hands. But in a thrilling match, Team New Zealand took control, including a victory in race eight which was dubbed the “most bizarre race” in America’s Cup history.
Team New Zealand fell off the foils and trailed by more than four minutes, but they recovered and went on to win by four minutes when the Italians suffered the same fate. It was the turning point as Team NZ won the next two races to close out their successful defence, the first on New Zealand waters since 2000. Oh, how we cheered and then put away the red socks and looked forward to hosting another event in the near future. Sadly, it went to Barcelona. – CM
96) Tua v Cameron, 2009
It was dubbed The Fight of the Century and didn’t really live up to the hype, but it was still a huge occasion for the country, breaking pay-per-view records with a reported 88,000 households paying the fee to watch live. The bout barely lasted beyond the first round as the former heavyweight challenger David Tua knocked Shane Cameron out just seven seconds into the second round, after twice knocking him down in the opening round.
Cameron only revisited the fight for the first time in 2023, after having no recollection of the night. “I watched the fight last week for the very first time. [I thought] is that all I did, just move around? He caught me early and I never recovered.” – CM
95) John Carlaw seals Warriors’ place in first grand final, 2002
Locked at 10-10 with five minutes to play and a spot in the grand final on the line. Up steps Stacey Jones with a pinpoint grubber, rolling low before bouncing at hand-height for centre John Carlaw to run on to, just over the tryline.
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It was fitting that the match-winning try was at the end in front of thousands of Kiwis who were given free tickets by Warriors owner Eric Watson and sponsor Vodafone after the side were denied a home semifinal, despite finishing as minor premiers. – CM
94) Greg Murphy’s Lap of the Gods, 2003
There’s no more iconic race (in this part of the world, at least) than Bathurst – and in 2003, for 2m 6.8594s, Australia’s legendary race circuit belonged to a Kiwi. Greg Murphy’s rivals stood to applaud as he got around the 6.213km circuit quicker than anyone else in history, giving him pole position that he would convert into victory the following day.
Even as evolving technology sees motorsport records continually broken, Murphy’s lap record stood for seven years. To make things even sweeter, in 2022, at 51 he returned to Mount Panorama and bettered his own time by 0.878s. – AP
93) Raducanu’s return goes long, 2024
A first Sunday appearance at Wimbledon became Lulu Sun’s day. Playing in the second week for the first time and making her maiden appearance on Centre Court, the 23-year-old Kiwi ace was cool and composed throughout in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over British hometown favourite Emma Raducanu in a match that lasted almost three hours.
When a tiring Raducanu – a local fan favourite – wilted and sent a return of serve long, Sun had victory. She was the first qualifier to reach the final eight at Wimbledon since 2010 and the first New Zealand female to get as far as the quarter-finals on the famous grass courts. – CM
92) Nikki Hamblin helps Abbey D’Agostino towards finish line, 2016
The most memorable 15th placing in New Zealand Olympic history. In the second heat of the 5000m event at the Rio Games, Abbey D’Agostino accidentally clipped Nikki Hamblin’s foot, causing both of them to fall. It became one of the moments of the Games. The American initially helped Hamblin up, who was lying on the track. But then it became clear D’Agostino was injured as the Kiwi encouraged and helped her across the finish line. They were both awarded the International Fair Play Committee Award a day after the final. – CM
91) Lawson knocks Verstappen out of Singapore qualifying
When Daniel Ricciardo smashed into the wall at Zandvoort in 2023, a broken finger opened the door for Liam Lawson in Formula One. Finishing 13th in the Netherlands and 11th in Italy, it wasn’t until the third of his five races that the Kiwi made his biggest statement. As stablemate Max Verstappen stumbled in Singapore, Lawson rubbed salt into the wounds and took the last spot in the final qualifying session, at the world champion’s expense, and started as the best of Red Bull’s four affiliated cars.
Making the achievement all the better was the fact Lawson had learned he’d missed out on a fulltime seat at then-AlphaTauri in the hours before that qualifying session. Come the Grand Prix, Lawson made up one place on track and drove home for ninth place and his first points in Formula One. They wouldn’t be his last points, either. – AP
90) Billy Stairmand beats Kelly Slater in WA, 2011
In the space of a 30-minute heat, Billy Stairmand established himself as one to watch in the world of professional surfing. Drawn against then 10-time and reigning world champion Kelly Slater, few expected the then 21-year-old Kiwi to progress from their Round of 24 heat in the ASP qualifying series event at Margaret River, south of Perth. The occasion called for something special and, with a couple of big hits off the lip of a left-hander, Stairmand delivered.
The pair traded scores of 7.50 on rights to open the heat, but when Slater found himself out of position on a promising left, Stairmand launched into it. The young Kiwi posted a near-perfect 9.0, leaving Slater – who had priority of wave selection when Stairmand got the nine-pointer – work to do late in the heat. He tried to hit back, but his 8.0 on another right wasn’t enough and the young Kiwi progressed with a 16.5-15.5 win. Slater would go on to win his 11th world title later that year. – CR
89) Auckland FC’s opening goal, 2025
A 24,492-strong crowd turned up to cheer on the latest professional football side in Auckland and they were rewarded just eight minutes in – celebrating wildly after an own goal from the visitors. Auckland FC skipper Hiroki Sakai’s driven cross forced Brisbane Roar defender Harry Van Der Saag to prod the ball into his own net and the home side had their maiden A-League campaign under way. – CM
88) Oskar Zawada’s 99th-minute equaliser, 2024
One of the great sequences of play at the Wellington stadium. Time was almost up and 33,297 Phoenix fans were out of fingernails to chew. Sam Sutton sent a long ball forward from inside his half, which Oskar van Hattum brilliantly headed on into the box. Kosta Barbarouses nodded it again for Oskar Zawada and the striker slotted home to send the semifinal into extra-time. The Phoenix eventually lost the fixture when Chris Ikonomidis scored the winning goal in the 102nd minute to end the Nix’s season. – CM
87) Up the Wahs fever sweeps the nation, 2023
As the Warriors returned to the NRL finals at the first time of asking under new coach Andrew Webster, a week-one defeat to Penrith left the club on the ropes. But as Shaun Johnson returned to the side after recovering from a calf injury, the Mt Smart faithful sensed magic in the air.
In 80 minutes on a glorious September Saturday, the Warriors put the Newcastle Knights to the sword in the semifinal. Seven tries, by seven different scorers, left the Knights with no answers, as the Warriors advanced to the preliminary final at a canter. And as the final whistle blew, the Warriors’ team song We Are The Warriors 100% was sung louder than it ever had been. – AP
86) Double doubles titles, 2017 and 2023
It was impossible to separate the two and since each one needed a non-Kiwi to help them, both grand slam doubles titles this century are worth half a moment each.
It took a long time but New Zealand tennis fans had something to savour. Michael Venus became the first New Zealand male Grand Slam champion since 1974 with victory at Roland Garros when he and his American doubles partner Ryan Harrison earned a straight sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-4), 6-3 win over Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and American Donald Young in a final lasting more than two hours. It was the first French Open doubles final featuring two unseeded teams since 1993 and the first without a player from a European nation since 1982.
The achievement was matched six years later when Erin Routliffe won the US Open doubles title alongside Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski. The No 16 seeds paired up a month before Flushing Meadows and took down former champions Laura Siegemund of Germany and Russian Vera Zvonareva in straight sets in the final. – CM
85) Chris Wood’s Boxing Day hat-trick against Newcastle, 2023
Chris Wood’s time as a Newcastle player was a bit of a mixed bag – he couldn’t nail down a place in the first team and was soon on his way to Nottingham Forest. His return to Newcastle on Boxing Day 2023 was spectacular – the All Whites skipper became just the fourth player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick against a former club.
His three goals that day opened a remarkable run for his new club, giving Forest a shot at qualifying for the Champions League. – WA
84) Eliza McCartney’s pole vault joy, 2016
A teenage Eliza McCartney became the Kiwi star of the Rio Olympics when she equalled her personal best of 4.80m to claim bronze.
Medalling in Rio was always a long shot for McCartney, who had initially targeted the Tokyo Games to stamp her mark, but her progress was so rapid earlier in the year that it brought 2016 into the calculations.
The feat saw her become the youngest New Zealand female to win an Olympic medal since Jean Stewart in 1952, only to have that record taken off her a day later by Dame Lydia Ko. – BF
83) Hayden Wilde’s embrace after silver, 2024
In one of the most stunning moments at the Paris Olympics, Hayden Wilde looked destined to bring home gold, only for British rival and close friend Alex Yee to sprint past in the last 300m and win.
Crossing the line 6s after Yee, the first thing Wilde did was congratulate him and they embraced in a heartwarming moment.
Sadly, the triathlon event was overshadowed by the water quality in the Seine River, which meant athletes were unable to train and ultimately got sick afterwards, including Wilde, who had E. coli in the days following. – BF
82) Kyle Jamieson gets Virat Kohli, 2021
The last day of the inaugural World Test Championship final began with expectations of a shared title. Any hopes of a New Zealand victory were faint until the sixth over of the day, when Kyle Jamieson, who had dismissed Virat Kohli in the first innings and troubled him several times in the morning, forced a rising delivery to get the edge to B.J. Watling. In the next over, Jamieson removed Cheteshwar Pujara and it was all on, leading to a magical day. – BF
81) Tom Ashley boosts as Frenchman slips, 2008
Going into the final race of the Beijing 2008 Olympic regatta, North Shore boardsailor Tom Ashley needed to beat France’s Julien Bontemps and Britain’s Nick Dempsey to bag gold. The Frenchman blinked, spilling his sail at the first mark. Ashley pounced, finishing ahead of his hard-chasing rivals to bag New Zealand’s third Olympic boardsailing gold. – WA
