The golden trio on day 15 of the Paris Olympics, Lydia Ko (left), Hamish Kerr and Dame Lisa Carrington. Photos / Getty Images, Photosport
The Herald looks back at 10 of the greatest sporting moments from 2024.
It’s hard to imagine now but Dame Lisa Carrington arrived at the 2024 Olympics under some pressure. How could she possibly top the Tokyo trifecta, which seemed like a peak moment? In that context, what unfolded at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium was extraordinary and left seasoned kayaking journalists shaking their heads, unable to fathom a level of dominance rarely seen in any sport. The victory margin in the K2 500m final alongside Alicia Hoskin was almost two boat-lengths, as they destroyed their opponents. The 35-year-old then reigned supreme in the K1 500m decider, against one of the best fields in Olympic history.
But her greatest achievement came with the K4 500m triumph. It’s an event the heavyweight kayaking countries value more than any other, and no nation apart from Hungary and Germany had taken gold in the big boat since 1988. Carrington had good paddlers around her — but she made them great. Carrington, Hoskin and youngsters Olivia Brett and Tara Vaughan had only raced together for the first time in May 2022 but had evolved into a machine. The final was a thriller. Racing in lane five, the black boat had started well, before the German crew surged to the front, ahead with less than 150m to go, as a hush came over the large Kiwi contingent in the stands.
“Yeah, I could sense that,” reflected Carrington later. “Coming into those last 200 metres it’s like, ‘this is it’.” What came next was unforgettable, as the New Zealanders found a final push, for a slice of Olympic Games immortality. ”It’s incredibly special, I just can’t believe it, said Carrington. “You wouldn’t have thought when we finished Tokyo that us four would be here winning a gold medal.”
It left Carrington with a record that will surely never be touched: from 10 Olympic finals, she has eight golds and one bronze.
— Michael Burgess
Ryan Fox provided one of the most electric singular moments in Kiwi sport when he wrote his name into the PGA Tour history books with a picture-perfect gap wedge on one of the most iconic holes in golf. The Island Green at TPC Sawgrass in Florida presents a unique challenge. The 124-yard, par-three 17th — which was Fox’s eighth hole of the day, having started on the back nine — has nothing but water between the tee and green, and generally a decent crowd gathered around the back to watch it during tournament play.
In his opening round, Fox became just the 14th athlete to ace the hole in the history of The Players Championship. It came after he had eagled the par-five 16th, powering his second shot to within 3ft of the hole. His hole-out on 17 meant he became the first person on record — dating back to 1983 — to make back-to-back eagles on any two holes at The Players. The 37-year-old didn’t play his best golf in 2024, but that was a mini-run he won’t forget.
— Christopher Reive
It might not be her best shot of the year (that possibly was her approach a hole earlier), certainly not her most difficult and could you argue not her most significant. But Ko’s second into the 72nd hole of the Open had the best setting. At the Old Course in St Andrews, with one of the iconic greens in golf in front of her and the Hamilton Grand in the background of the 18th, the Kiwi put a wedge to within six feet, setting up a birdie putt that would eventually secure a third major and her first since 2016.
Ko started the 18th in a three-way tie knowing birdie might not even be enough. But Lilia Vu and Nelly Korda both struggled on the final two holes as Ko won by two, capping a remarkable month that included Olympic gold. Korda and Scottie Scheffler are the only other players to win gold and a major in the same year - but Ko did it within 16 days.
— Cameron McMillan
When Addin Fonua-Blake publicly announced he wanted to leave the Warriors in late 2023, fans feared the worst. After Andrew Webster’s first year, surely the Warriors weren’t returning to their old, shambolic selves? But in April, the Warriors’ top brass pulled off what was arguably the signing coup of the year. Kiwis captain and reigning Golden Boot winner James Fisher-Harris was coming home to New Zealand.
As seen in other sports, the best player movements are the ones you don’t see coming. Fisher-Harris was still two years away from leaving the Penrith Panthers but sought an early release so he could come home to New Zealand. Once the Warriors knew of his interest, it took less than 72 hours to have the Kiwis captain’s signature. This season was nothing to write home about at Mt Smart, on-field at least. But with Fisher-Harris, could 2025 finally be the Warriors’ year?
— Alex Powell
Maddi Wesche’s achievements exceed her profile.
She was overshadowed at the Paris Olympics when Hamish Kerr won his dramatic high-jump gold the day after her surprise shot put silver. She is overshadowed in her own event by Dame Valerie Adams, whose ridiculous dominance earned her 10 global golds from 2007 to 2014. Adams was brilliant at excelling on the biggest stages but even she could not match Wesche’s phenomenal run of personal bests.
When Wesche took the lead in Paris with a fifth-round effort of 19.86m, it meant the 25-year-old had set a personal best at five consecutive global finals.
To do it once is notable. To do it five times in a row is extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented. A run of personal bests that started at the Olympics in 2021 continued at the world championships in 2022 and 2023, and the world indoor championships and Olympics in 2024, culminating in her first global medal.
Wesche was one competitor away from a famous gold in Paris, overtaken when Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye recorded 20.00m with the penultimate put. But given Wesche was ranked ninth heading into the Olympics, silver — and a fifth straight PB — represented a remarkable achievement.
— Simon Kay
Qualifying doesn’t often qualify when it comes to the most memorable of sports moments. But it does in the case of Olympic gold medallist Hamish Kerr.
Touted as a great prospect to become New Zealand’s first male gold-medal winner in an Olympic field event, the high jumper was in danger of a crash landing in Paris.
He soared over 2.15m in his qualifying first jump but the yips set in at 2.20m, leaving him in danger of elimination. New Zealand held its breath. Kerr held his nerve. Steeling himself on the track, Kerr launched over the height in his do-or-die third attempt.
I soared out of the sofa with him.
The relief of staying in the competition, after years of preparation, almost brought Kerr to tears.
“It was pretty scary,” he said, after opting for a jump-off where he beat American Shelby McEwen. “I was s***ting myself.”
— Chris Rattue
Whether it’s basketball, rugby, cricket, netball or boxing, rivalry elevates sport to another level. The history, distant or recent, and passion make for captivating sporting theatre.
This year we witnessed one of the great sporting rivalries between New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde and his British nemesis Alex Yee. Wilde and Yee had history before arriving at the Paris Olympics, with the Brit claiming a controversial gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after the New Zealander was given a 10-second penalty for a transition infringement. Cue more drama on the grand Olympic stage.
Emerging over a minute back after the punishing Seine swim, Wilde somehow surged to the front of the pack, with help from fellow Kiwi Dylan McCullough on the bike. Olympic gold was in Wilde’s grasp — until it wasn’t.
Yee’s extraordinary sprint finish to overtake Wilde’s seemingly insurmountable 14-second lead in the last kilometre was one of the great off-the-couch, what-the-hell-just-happened sporting moments of the year. One month after the Olympics, Wilde savoured revenge of sorts over Yee with a dominant performance on the final run leg to win the second Supertri race in Chicago. He backed that up with victory in Lee’s home event in London to average successive losses to his arch-rival.
Unfortunately, the Wilde-Yee rivalry is expected to diminish, somewhat, as the Kiwi switches focus to long-course triathlon events, the T100 Triathlon World Tour and Ironman 70.3 distance, in coming years. However, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic arena will once again set the scene for these supreme athletes to clash.
— Liam Napier
When the Black Ferns visited Buckingham Palace ahead of their match against England in September, they created a moment that transcended the game. Amid selfies and small talk, winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga broke royal protocol with a simple, quintessentially Kiwi gesture: she asked King Charles for a hug. “But only if it’s okay with you,” she said. The King’s response? A smile and a chuckle: “A hug? Why not.”
A hug from a swarm of players followed, leaving Charles visibly delighted and laughing. Monarchs are rarely treated like real people but in that moment, the Black Ferns' and Leti-I’iga‘s warmth and authenticity turned the King into “just Charles”. It was a reminder that some of the most powerful sporting moments unfold far from the sporting arena, often in acts of real connection.
— Luke Kirkness
For a team that continues to make headlines for the wrong reasons, at least this wasn’t the Football Ferns’ fault. The drone gate saga at the 2024 Paris Olympics was so incredible that it put into question every single Canadian women’s team result, including their famous 2020 Olympic gold-medal win, and had Kiwis wondering whether the Ferns were better than we all thought. Why target a much lower-ranked team like New Zealand? Why fly drones over teams at the prestigious Summer Games? How many others are doing this?
Despite Canadian coach Beverly Priestman being sent home and the team being penalised with a six-point deduction, the Ferns still couldn’t leverage their advantageous position and ended up delivering their usual subpar results, finishing at the bottom of their group.
— Bonnie Jansen
When Lydia Ko stepped up to the tee box on the 18th hole at Le Golf National, her equation was simple: make par or better and she would complete the trio of bronze, silver and gold Olympic medals (her nearest competitor was in the clubhouse one shot behind). For me, the equation was simpler still: hit the fairway with her drive and she should be given the gold right then and there, such is the impeccable nature of her iron and short game.
The 406m, par-five 18th presents a difficult end to the round - you have to be straight but can’t go too long due to the water hazard, while anywhere to the left you’re in deep, wet trouble. Ko proceeded to crunch a high fade that looked so good she was already leaning down to collect her tee before it reached the apex.
The reason I knew she’d won gold once I saw her ball land safely on the fairway was because the only fault in her round to that point had been leaving an approach shot short on 13 — ending with double bogey. The 18th being a par-five meant she could lay up, avoiding the difficult approach over the water and take a simple (by Ko’s standards) par chance.
Coming up with my own words to describe what came later on that final hole would be absurdly remiss when you have in my opinion the best Olympic call of all time from Iain Carter. “Lydia Ko has gone from unknown to prodigy. From prodigy to winner. Winner to champion. From champion to star. Star to legend and has two putts to go from legend to immortal.”
As it turns out, Ko needed just one putt - taking a birdie and with it immortal status.
— Will Toogood
The overlooked Queensland forward will lead the Warriors for the first time on Sunday.