Congrats to Kiwi Olympians for most successful Games ever   22 Aug 2016

Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman

Minister for Sport and Recreation

22 August 2016 Media Statement

Congrats to Kiwi Olympians for most successful Games ever

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman says New Zealand’s Olympic team should be incredibly proud of achieving the country’s best ever results at an Olympic Games with a total of 18 medals.

“Our Olympians have secured New Zealand’s best ever medal haul, and their achievements are a great reward for the hard work and training they’ve put into their sport,” says Dr Coleman.

“New Zealand is extremely proud of all of our Olympic team, particularly our gold medal winners - Mahé Drysdale, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, Lisa Carrington, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

“It’s also great to see the emergence of some new sporting heroes such as Natalie Rooney, Luuka Jones and Eliza McCartney.”

New Zealand placed fourth out of 205 competing nations on a medals per-capita basis and secured podium finishes across nine different sports. It was New Zealand’s largest ever Olympic team, with 199 athletes competing in 21 sports.

“These results show we have a high performance system which is delivering strong results, and New Zealand’s sports people continue to achieve at the highest level,” says Dr Coleman.

“Our Olympians are an inspiration to New Zealanders, and their performance at Rio helps to encourage people to get out there and get active.”

In 2016/17 the Government will invest over $66 million in High Performance Sport NZ to provide a one stop shop for high performance athlete’s needs. This includes an extra $16 million in Budget 2016 as preparation for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

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