New Zealand's greatest Olympic moments

Chief sports writer DAVID LEGGAT looks back at some of the country's finest Olympic achievements

JACK LOVELOCK

1500m gold medal Berlin, 1936

Arguably New Zealand's most famous Olympic champion. He was already a world mile recordholder - 4m 7.6s, set in July 1933 - and gold medallist at the Empire Games two years earlier.

But in the Reich Sportsplatz, with more than 100,000 people looking on, 26-year-old Lovelock attained athletic perfection. He surged clear on the back straight for the final time, earlier than he would usually have done, then held off his challengers to post a world record 3m 47.8s.

The BBC commentary from 1924 100m champion - and Chariots of Fire hero - Harold Abrahams, Lovelock's good friend, is among the most cherished in Olympic history.

"Lovelock! Cunningham's second, Beccali third ... my God he's done it ... Jack, come on ... Lovelock wins ... five yards ... six yards ... he wins ... he's won ... hooray ... "

For the man himself it was simply "the most perfectly executed race of my career".

Lovelock, a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Otago University's medical school, said shortly afterwards that he would just "slip away". True to his word, he ran one more big race then gave up sport. In December 1949, living in New York, he fell under a train in Brooklyn and was killed.

MARK TODD

Individual gold medal, Seoul, 1988


When Mark Todd guided Charisma to his second consecutive individual gold he became only the second rider to achieve the feat on the same horse, following in the hoofprints of Marcroix and Dutch rider Charles Pahud de Mortanges, who won in 1928 and 1932.

It was a convincing victory, 10.2 penalty points clear of Britain's Ian Stark, a far cry from the nail-biting triumph in Los Angeles four years earlier when American Karen Stives, needing a clear round to clinch the individual title, nudged a rail at the penultimate fence, giving the watching Todd the gold.

There are a string of titles to Todd's name, including four Olympic medals, three titles at Badminton plus Rider of the Century bestowed on him in 2000. But in New Zealanders' eyes, the double Olympic glory takes pride of place.

PETER SNELL

SIR MURRAY HALBERG

800m and 5000m Rome, 1960

Still New Zealand athletics' golden hour, and you can see why.

In that time, New Zealand's athletics gold medal swag jumped from one - Jack Lovelock - to three.

First up, Snell, who had impressed on his way to the 800m final, but who was not expected to be up with experienced rivals Roger Moens of Belgium, Jamaican George Kerr and highly rated Swiss Christian Waegli.

Hitting the home straight it came down to a battle of strength and on those terms there was only one winner. Still, it was a close-run thing, Snell just heading off world recordholder Moens, with Kerr third.

Snell staggered to a nearby post and clung on. "Who won?" he asked Moens. "You did," replied the shattered Belgian.

Then Halberg, who in contrast to Snell was fancied as a strong contender. He was the Empire Games three-mile champion from two years earlier and renowned for his mental and physical tenacity.

On the eighth lap he eased into second, then surged clear of the field. From there it was a case of staying in front.

At the bell lap, the pursuit began and as Halberg put it: "The hours and hours I had put into my training flashed through my mind. It was my destiny to win, not to quit".

He got to the tape, tottered over the line and collapsed on the grass, the tape entwined in his fingers.

ROWING EIGHT

Gold medal Munich, 1972

For triumph laced with emotion look no further than the eights final on the Feldmoching course.

These Games are best remembered for grim reasons, the death of 11 Israelis and three Palestinian guerrillas, who had taken them captive, on September 5.

Amid that horrific backdrop the Games went on, but for New Zealand there were just three medals, one of each colour.

The coxless four won silver behind the formidable East Germans. Then it was the turn of the eight - stroke Tony Hurt, Wybo Veldman, Dick Joyce, John Hunter, Lindsay Wilson, Athol Earl, Trevor Coker and Gary Robertson, and cox Simon Dickie.

They surged away at the start and at halfway were about a length in front. Then it was all about hanging on as the East Germans turned on their famed searing finish, Dickie screaming, the rowers straining.

At the line they were still that length clear and agony turned to ecstasy. Amateurs had beaten the professionals.

And then came the final recognition. On the victory dais the rowers turned to face the flags being raised to the sounds of God Defend New Zealand. It was the first time the country's national anthem, and not God Save The Queen, had been played at an Olympics. Strong men wept as the strains rang out. Watch a tape 32 years on and the goose bumps still rise.

YVETTE CORLETT

Long jump gold, Helsinki, 1952

Caption1: GIANT LEAP: Yvette Williams flew 6.24m in the final, setting an Olympic record.


Still New Zealand's only female Olympic athletic champion. She arrived in Helsinki as Yvette Williams, Empire Games champion, after her win at Auckland two years earlier.

Her event was a nerve-jangling experience for those gathered round the wireless in the early hours.

Williams was top qualifier with an Olympic-record 6.16m, but no jumps on her first two leaps raised the tension.

With her third leap, Williams bagged a 5.90m, good enough for the top six final jump-off.

Then, in the final, she flew 6.24m in her fourth leap, an Olympic record and just 1.3cm shy of the world mark of Dutch legend Fanny Blankers-Koen - and good enough to hold off her closest rival, Russian Aleksandra Chudina.

The New Zealanders in the Olympic Stadium broke out into a haka. Rain lashed down but fittingly, Sir Arthur Porritt, bronze medallist in the 100m at Paris 28 years earlier, presented Williams with her gold.

Two years later, she got her world record, jumping 6.29m at Gisborne. That year she won the long jump, shot put and discus at the Vancouver Empire Games, adding further lustre to her record as New Zealand's greatest allround woman athlete.

DANYON LOADER

200m and 400m freestyle golds Atlanta, 1996

New Zealand can look back on the odd appearance on the swimming medal dais - Jean Stewart, Anthony Mosse and Paul Kingsman, all taking bronze medals while Malcolm Champion was part of the gold medal-winning 4 x 200m freestyle relay Australasian team of 1912.

However the sport's shining period came in Atlanta when the pony-tailed Loader bagged gold medals in two of the premier events.

He had already won a bronze four years earlier in Barcelona in the 200m butterfly, shaving a stunning 3.36s off his pre-Olympic personal best, and had won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 1994 Commonwealth Games against formidable Australian opposition.

So he had some form going into Atlanta, but his double triumph still had jaws dropping. In the 200m final, he clocked 1m 47.63s, taking the lead just before the final turn and finishing 0.45s ahead of Brazilian Gustavo Borges.

Three days later he was back for the longer event - in which he had finished eighth at Barcelona - and won in 3m 47.97s, 1.03s ahead of Britain's Paul Palmer, pulling clear over the last couple of laps.

Fame and the pressures of his achievements did not sit easily with the shy Loader, who quietly dropped out of the limelight.

He was named New Zealand's Sportsperson of the 1990s.

CANOEING TEAM

Gold medals, Los Angeles, 1984

Never before had New Zealand so dominated a sport as they did on the Lake Casitas course.

By the time the ripples had settled, New Zealand had won four gold medals and Ian Ferguson, Paul MacDonald, Grant Bramwell and Alan Thompson had becomehousehold names.

They had come from a surf lifesaving background. Ferguson and Thompson had gone to Moscow four years earlier as part of a team of four New Zealanders who opted to defy the western boycott of the Games.

Ferguson was seventh and eighth in the K1 500m and 1000m finals, but in Los Angeles he and the New Zealand squad were ready to stun the paddling world.

Ferguson won the K1 500m gold, then teamed up with MacDonald to take the K2 500m title the same day.

Thompson triumphed in the K1 1000m final, while those three joined Bramwell in winning the K4 1000m.

Ferguson and MacDonald retained their K2 500m crown four years later in Seoul and took the silver in the K2 1000m final. Ferguson, with five medals, is New Zealand's most successful Olympian.

MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM

Gold medal, Montreal, 1976

The sheer unexpectedness of this gold makes it memorable.

New Zealand's previous best efforts on the hockey field had been sixth placings at Melbourne and Rome in 1956 and 1960. But this was a good New Zealand team loaded with experienced, skilled players at their peak.

They gave an early warning that they would not be easybeats with a 1-1 draw against defending champions West Germany on the opening day.

They drew with Spain, beat Belgium before copping a 5-2 thumping from Pakistan. That left New Zealand needing to win a playoff against Spain to make the semifinals. Ramesh Patel, now chief executive of New Zealand Hockey got the only goal of a dreary game.

The Dutch, the form team of the tournament until then, were beaten in the semifinals in extra time, courtesy of goals from Thur Borren and Tony Ineson.

New Zealand's opponents in the final were Australia. Ineson's goal from a penalty corner early in the second half, after Patel had missed a penalty stroke in the first spell, was sufficient.

Goalkeeper Trevor Manning ended the game with a broken kneecap repelling Australia's late attacks.