Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle breaks down the sector's latest initiatives. Video / Alyse Wright
In the third edition of the Herald’s series celebrating the top 100 Kiwi sporting moments of the millennium, we’re counting from position 60-41. Catch up on the earlier parts: 100-81, 80-61 and 60-41.
40) Kane’s six denies Australia, 2015
After rolling the Aussies for just 151 in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, the Black Caps got off to a flier when Brendon McCullum hammered a 24-ball half-century to have New Zealand 78/1 in reply. From there, though, the wheels well and truly fell off.
A haul of 6/28 from Mitchell Starc left Trent Boult needing to survive the last two balls of the 23rd over to keep New Zealand in the game. Once he did, Kane Williamson wasted no time and sent Pat Cummins back over his head – and 48,000 spectators into raptures. –AP
Black Caps batsman Kane Williamson enjoys the moment after hitting the winning six to beat Australia. Photo / Brett Phibbs
She’d been one of the on-field stars of the tournament while off the field, Tui’s character was at the heart of the Black Ferns appeal as the nation pulled in behind the team for the massive challenge of beating England.
Aue! – WA
Ruby Tui was a star of the Black Ferns' 2022 World Cup-winning effort. Photo / Photosport
38) Silver Ferns win World Cup, 2019
2019 was almost a year to forget for New Zealand teams. A Cricket World Cup final lost by a boundary countback and the All Blacks fell to England at the semifinal stage at their World Cup. Thankfully, there were the Silver Ferns. This was fourth time’s a charm after the anguish of three previous World Cup final losses – all to Australia. It was Australia again in the final, and it was a back-and-forth battle again.
Veterans Casey Kopua, Laura Langman and Maria Folau were crucial, along with a 24-from-26 shooting performance by Ameliaranne Ekenasio, as the Ferns hung on to a four-point lead at the final quarter, denying Australia a comeback to win 52-51. This time it was New Zealand’s time. – CM
The Silver Ferns celebrate winning the 2019 Netball World Cup final. Photo / Photosport
37) Sunline hits the gas at the 400m mark, 2000
To understand the enormity of Sunline’s demolition, you have to understand the Cox Plate – Australasia’s best and strongest horse race. The truly great horses win this race by clawing past their rivals, equine bare-knuckle brawling.
Sunline, the moody mare from Takanini, won it in 1999 but returned to Moonee Valley in 2000 to bolt home by a scarcely believable seven lengths, the race over at the 400m mark as she had broken her rivals’ hearts.
When a horse wins that easily, you might ask, what did she beat? The runner-up Diatribe had won the Caulfield Cup a week earlier. Dear old Sunline is buried in the rose gardens at Ellerslie – MG
36) Sevens’ golden redemption, 2021
Five years after a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the Rio de Janeiro final, the Black Ferns Sevens found redemption to win gold at the Tokyo Games, beating France 26-12 in the final. As the fulltime whistle blew, the players broke into tears.
The team were probably the best New Zealand has produced, featuring the likes of Michaela Blyde (now Brake), Sarah Hirini, Tyla Nathan-Wong (now King), Portia Woodman (now Woodman-Wickliffe) and Ruby Tui. The team were also praised afterwards for a rousing haka after receiving their gold medals. The Black Ferns Sevens arguably faced their toughest test in the semifinals, when they needed a golden-point try to beat Fiji 22-17. – BF
The Black Ferns Sevens celebrate with their gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Photosport
35) Nathan Astle goes bang, 2002
While not the literal definition of “going down swinging”, Nathan Astle got pretty close in Christchurch. Chasing 550 for victory, New Zealand were never a chance at what would have been a world-record fourth-innings score. And as wickets continued to fall, Astle threw caution to the wind and smashed 27 fours and nine sixes, as he reached his first – and what would prove to be his only – test double century in just 153 balls. He’d eventually fall for 222 from 168 balls, with 178 of his runs coming from boundaries and sixes.
Even in 2025, two decades on from the invention of T20 cricket, Astle’s record is still 10 balls quicker than the next-best challenger – England’s Christchurch-born Ben Stokes – as cricket’s fastest test 200. – AP
Nathan Astle plays a shot during his record-breaking 222 against England. Photo / Photosport
34) Dame Sophie Pascoe blacks out after gold
We could have filled 11 moments with Dame Sophie Pascoe golds at the Paralympics, following her dominant run from 2008 in Beijing up to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, not to mention another 18 world and Commonwealth Games titles. The one that stands out most is her last at the Paralympics, Pascoe’s fourth straight title in the 200m individual medley (SM9) in Tokyo. It completed a famous four-peat – adding to gold medals she had won in the discipline in Beijing, London and Rio. And there was no doubt she gave her all. After holding off late-surging Hungarian Zsofia Konkoly to win by just 0.27s, Pascoe exited the pool, threw up and blacked out briefly.
“I did really leave it all out there and even left some on the side of the pool. But that is what a fight is all about and I really wanted it, I wanted to make it a four-peat. It just came down to that last 10 metres not breathing. That comes down to the skills that Roly [Crichton] and I have been working on for many years doing this race,” she said. – CM
Dame Sophie Pascoe: "It just came down to that last 10 metres not breathing." Photo / Photosport
33) Magic Shaun Johnson stuns the Storm, 2011
First came the look, to assess the defensive line. The shuffle sideways, the acceleration, a feint, a step and then another outrageous dummy. Three Melbourne Storm players were left grasping, before Shaun Johnson set up Lewis Brown for the match-sealing try.
This was the peak of the Ivan Cleary era at the Warriors, the team’s best performance across that impressive six-season period. They had travelled to Melbourne to take down a Storm team that had reached four of the previous five NRL grand finals and featured Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk in their pomp. – MB
Shaun Johnson carves up in Melbourne in 2011. Photo / Photosport
32) Mohammed Siraj slices Ajaz Patel, 2024
Taking all 10 wickets in a test innings is a feat so rare, only two other men had achieved it. But in his hometown of Mumbai, playing for his adopted country against the nation of his birth, Ajaz Patel wrote his name into history. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, Patel did his bit by taking the only four wickets to fall on day one, and returned the next day to make history.
One by one, thanks to a lack of support from his teammates, Patel picked off India’s batters and went level with Sir Richard Hadlee as Jayant Yadav holed out to long-off. Batting at No 11, Mohammed Siraj made no attempt to deny Patel, as his top-edged slice was taken securely by Rachin Ravindra at mid-on. Patel’s final figures of 10/119 were the best in New Zealand history and third-best in the history of the sport. – AP
Ajaz Patel celebrates the wicket of Mohammed Siraj. Photo / Photosport
31) Carrington’s first gold, 2012
As she waited on the start line in her first Olympic final, Dame Lisa Carrington might just have recalled the words of her father about 16 years earlier as she watched Danyon Loader win one of his Atlanta Games swimming gold medals.
“You could do that one day. If you put your mind to it, you can go,” was her dad’s tip to his 6-year-old daughter.
That day at Eton Dorney was the culmination of a dream. The Whakatāne kayaker clocked 44.638s to pip Ukrainian Inna Osypenko-Radomska by 0.415s, with multi-medalled Hungarian Natasa Douchev-Janics third, a further 0.075s back.
Hysterics, flailing arms, a scream of delight perhaps? Nah, none of that. A quiet smile and, eventually, an undemonstrative wave to the Kiwi supporters who were on hand beside the course. The beginning of our greatest-ever Olympic run. – CM
New Zealand kayaker Dame Lisa Carrington. Photo / Brett Phibbs
30) Adesanya knocks out Whittaker for UFC title in Melbourne, 2019
After Israel Adesanya won his UFC debut, he mimed marking his territory in the cage before proclaiming “I’m the new dog in the yard.” He was the champion of the middleweight division within two years of that moment. Having moved quickly to get into title contention – six UFC wins in 14 months, collecting the interim title on the way – the stage was set for a blockbuster transtasman clash against New Zealand-born champion Robert Whittaker. In front of 57,127 fans in Melbourne – which remains the UFC attendance record – Adesanya ascended to the throne with a second-round knockout against a rival previously unbeaten in the division.
Performing a choreographed dance before making the walk to the octagon, Adesanya radiated confidence – and that didn’t change when the fight began. He was fast, elusive and, when he picked his shot, devastating. He dropped Whittaker at the end of the first round, before ending the fight with a right-left combination on the counter in the second – wearing a solid jab from Whittaker but planting his rival in response. That win took Adesanya’s career to another level and he went on to have one of the greatest title reigns in UFC history. - CR
Israel Adesanya celebrates winning the UFC middleweight title at UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Photo / Photosport
29) Billy Slater’s brain explosion, 2008
The Kiwis defied the odds to beat a superstar-laden Kangaroos side to win their one Rugby League World Cup final 34-20 in Brisbane.
In the 60th minute, the Kiwis were leading 18-16, having trailed 10-0 earlier in the first half, and Benji Marshall stabbed a routine kick towards the corner.
Instead of letting the ball bounce, Billy Slater caught it on the full and attempted to outrun Manu Vatuvei on the blindside but quickly ran out of space and attempted to throw the ball back infield.
The only issue was that there was nobody there – and Marshall scooped up the ball to score. Even though Australia hit back immediately after, the Kiwis still hung on to claim their first World Cup title.
Silly Billy. – BF
28) Steven Adams is drafted by the OKC Thunder, 2013
A historic moment for New Zealand basketball when NBA commissioner David Stern announced the Oklahoma City Thunder would be drafting Steven Adams with the 12th pick in the 2013 draft. A shy, clean-shaven Adams walked up to the stage and shook Stern’s hand before opening his blazer to reveal a New Zealand flag. The moment saw Adams become just the second New Zealander to be selected in the NBA draft and the first to be selected in the first round. Adams has gone on to have a relatively successful career with stints at the Thunder, Pelicans, Grizzlies and now Rockets, establishing himself as an elite rebounder and one of the toughest players in the NBA. – BF
27) Dame Valerie Adams’ opening effort for gold, 2008
There was certainly expectations on reigning world champion Dame Valerie Adams when she stepped into the circle for her opening effort in the Beijing Olympics shot put final. And no better way to lay down a marker than by sending her first attempt past the distance that won the world title 12 months earlier. With a monster effort of 20.56m – a distance only two other athletes in the field had bettered in their careers – Adams had done enough to win gold.
She then went past the 20m mark four more times, producing the three longest throws of the competition. When Belarusian second- and third-place getters Natallia Mikhnevich and Nadzeya Ostapchuk were later stripped of their medals for doping, Adams’ dominance was made even clearer with her winning throw more than a metre ahead of silver. – CM
The great Dame Valerie Adams was completely dominant from the very start in Beijing. Photo / Photosport
26) Wilkinson gives Football Ferns perfect start, 2023
It’s hard not to get goosebumps when you think back to the moment Hannah Wilkinson scored in the Football Ferns’ Women’s World Cup opener. In front of a sold-out Eden Park – unprecedented for the women’s game – the underdogs played out of their skin to beat Norway 1-0. The 12-month build-up to the home tournament had often been tough.
Wilkinson’s goal, assisted by Jaqui Hand, seemingly came out of nowhere. The players knew that just as much as the fans – which is why the eruption of those on and off the field was so raw, exhilarating and fulfilling. – BJ
Hannah Wilkinson celebrates after her strike set Eden Park alight in the World Cup opener. Photo / Photosport
25) Pero Cameron secures semifinal spot, 2002
In not many sports would you see New Zealand and Puerto Rico do battle and they were both unlikely quarter-finalists at basketball’s 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis. Pero Cameron hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with three minutes left to give the Tall Blacks a 60-58 lead. Then, locked at 63-63, Cameron scored from under the hoop to secure the win and book a semifinal with Yugoslavia. – CM
Pero Cameron scores at the World Basketball Championships, in 2002. Photo / Photosport
24) Ko completes the Olympic set, 2024
Saving the gold for last. Dame Lydia Ko completed the Olympic set in style at the Paris Olympics. Leading by one on the tricky par-five 18th hole, she very nearly holed out with her third from 70m out, just landing shy of the hole leaving a 1.5m shot for birdie and gold. She sank the putt and the tears began to flow.
Ko opened the day in a tie for the lead and certainly wasn’t flawless – a double-bogey on the 13th was particularly shaky – but managed to pair enough blemishes with class to claim the one shade of medal missing on her mantlepiece; after silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo. No other golfer of any gender has won more than one Olympic medal. – CM
An emotional Dame Lydia Ko with her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo / Photosport
23) Drysdale’s redemption, 2012
The single sculler was odds-on favourite for the 2008 Olympic crown in Beijing. After all, he’d been world champion the previous three years and, while not unbeatable, was damn near it.
Instead, Mahé Drysdale was laid low by a virus in the days leading up to the final and had to settle for a gallant bronze, having to be helped out of his boat. So he was a man with some serious ambitions when he arrived in London.
He was fourth early on but had his nose in front by halfway. It became a two-man contest from there, with Czech Republic hotshot Ondrej Synek duelling down the stretch with Drysdale. The two had shared the previous three world titles – Drysdale winning in 2009 and 2011, his fifth time – Synek in 2010 at Lake Karāpiro.
But by the end, the New Zealand man had it in hand, just, crossing in 6m 57.82s, Synek 1.55s behind, with Britain’s Alan Campbell third. Drysdale raised his arms, slapped the water and clasped his head at the finish. – CM
Mahé Drysdale celebrates winning gold at the 2012 Olympics. Photo / Brett Phibbs
22) Ulmer’s secret world records, 2004
On her approach run to the 2004 Olympics, Sarah Ulmer’s coaching team wanted to test her in a series of closed-door challenges, simulating the back-to-back races she would face on a golden run in Athens. The Cambridge flier had set a world record of 3m 30.604s for the 3km individual pursuit earlier in the year. Behind closed doors, she broke it again, clocking 3m 27s and 3m 28s.
She had to be sharp. In the final day of racing, Ulmer and her two main rivals, Australian Katie Mactier and Holland’s Leontien Zijlaard van Moorsel, set the fastest six times ever completed.
The Kiwi took honours with 3m 24.537s, completing the run from the secret trainings to glory on the biggest stage. – WA
Sarah Ulmer on her way to gold in Athens. Photo / Photosport
21) Dixon drinks the milk, 2008
A.J. Foyt, Al Unser snr, Jacques Villeneuve, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Graham Hill and Scott Dixon.
The Kiwi joined the ranks of motorsport’s immortals with his name on the same trophy with victory in the 2008 Indy500. Dixon started the 500-mile (804km) event from pole position and led 115 of the 200 laps to drink the traditional winner’s pint of milk.
The milk was sweetened by redemption. Two years earlier, he had been leading the race only to suffer a drive-through penalty for blocking Tony Kanaan, eventually finishing sixth. – CM
Kiwi motorsport ace Scott Dixon celebrates victory with milk after winning the Indy 500 in 2008. Photo / Photosport
