New Zealand Winter Olympic Chef de Mission Pete Wardell and Mahutonga, the Olympic team's kakahu (cloak). Photo / Photosport
New Zealand Winter Olympic Chef de Mission Pete Wardell and Mahutonga, the Olympic team's kakahu (cloak). Photo / Photosport
New Zealand's Winter Olympics campaign has exceeded its medal target after a historic day which saw teenagers Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous claim bronze medals in the space of two hours.
The historic medal haul was welcomed with pride but also some relief by NZ Winter Olympics chef de missionPete Wardell, who promised he would "eat his hat" if New Zealand didn't return home with any medals.
"[The target] was one medal," Wardell told NewstalkZB. "That was what high performance sport said to us, 'we need to get a medal'.
"I think I made a comment unfortunately that I would eat my hat if we didn't. So couple days ago I was looking around for a really small tasty hat but I don't need it now."
Sadowski-Synnott's bronze in the women's big air final made her the first New Zealander to medal at the Winter Olympics since Annelise Coberger won silver at the 1992 games in France.
Just two hours later, Nico Porteous claimed bronze in the men's halfpipe freeski becoming the country's third medallist in the history of the Winter Olympics.
Nico Porteous after winning his bronze medal. Photo / Getty
Wardell said the achievement of the two 16-year-olds was "absolutely wonderful".
"We lost three of our big name stars before we even got here and I think Ashley Light, high performance director of Snow Sports, said 'right, time for the youngies to step up', and that's exactly what they've done.
