Olympics 2024: New Zealand labelled ‘overachievers’ of Paris

New Zealand has been labelled the “overachievers” of the Paris 2024 Olympics after a record gold-medal haul.

Under the headline “Who really won the Olympics?”, the Times listed the best and worst-performing nations at the Games, with New Zealand coming out on top in the former category.

“Athletes from New Zealand logged an impressive haul of 20 medals at Paris 2024, despite having a population of just over 5 million. Their rate of one medal per 258,000 people is the best among nations to win at least four this summer,” the article says.

New Zealand finished 11th on the medal table with 10 gold, seven silver and three bronze, ahead of the likes of Canada, Spain, Sweden and Brazil. The US edged out China to top the table, with the 40th gold coming in the women’s basketball final in which they edged hosts France 67-66. China also finished with 40 gold medals, but had fewer silver and bronze than the US.

New Zealand’s 10 gold medals in Paris are easily the best golden effort at an Olympics for the nation, with the previous mark of eight gold won in 1984. The total medal haul of 20 matches the efforts in Tokyo three years ago.

Australia, France and Grenada were also picked as overachievers.

“New Zealand’s neighbours, Australia, boast the best medal rate by gross domestic product (one per $35 billion) among countries to have a GDP in excess of $1 trillion. This has been their best Olympics in terms of gold medals won (18), going beyond the tally they amassed at their home Games in Sydney in 2000 (16),” the article says.

Among the “underachievers” were India (six medals total, no gold), Nigeria (no medals, sixth-largest population in the world), and Jamaica (one gold from sprint team).

Of the 10 events New Zealand won at the Paris Olympics, 22 Kiwis were awarded gold medals - boosted by 12 members of the Black Ferns Sevens. Dame Lisa Carrington was a three-time winner while Alicia Hoskin and Ellesse Andrews both won two gold medals. Hamish Kerr and Finn Butcher were the male representatives among the gold medallists.

Of the 20 total medals, 14 were won by females or female teams, with one bronze going to the mixed Nacra team.

New Zealand chef de mission Nigel Avery thanked the athletes for their performances and the way they represented the nation.

“I’ve been extremely proud of the way our athletes have conducted themselves both on and off the field of play,” said Avery.

“There has been a huge amount of manaaki from our team towards the other nations and it’s been great to see them showcasing our values and culture.

“We also want to thank New Zealanders for their support of our team. We have felt it from over here and we are looking forward to returning home to share the success and continue to inspire the next generation of athletes.”