Local sporting star celebrate NZ Olympic story

Sporting heroes and local dignitaries will gather at Alexandra Park in Auckland next Wednesday 24 June to celebrate 1000 New Zealand Olympians.

The 2008 Olympic Games marked 100 years of New Zealand Olympic history and at Beijing the 1000th Olympian wore the silver fern. The total number of Olympians rose to 1111 during the Beijing Olympics.

This year, the New Zealand Olympic Committee together with the Olympians Club of New Zealand will honour each of these athletes through a series of functions around New Zealand.

More than 70 of Auckland’s Olympians and supporters will gather at the function hosted by Sport Auckland including Sir Murray Halberg, Ian Ferguson and Hamish Carter and many others young and old.
Each of Auckland’s Olympians will be presented with an exclusively designed Olympic pin featuring the rings and fern and the Olympian’s unique number. Olympians will also receive a commemorative certificate signed by IOC President Jacques Rogge and the NZOC Secretary General, Barry Maister.

New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General Barry Maister says honouring our Olympians is timely and important. “In 100 years of Olympic history just 1000 New Zealanders have been able to call themselves an Olympian. These special people have created history and inspired generations of New Zealanders. Sir John Walker, Mahe Drysdale, Ian Ferguson and others make up the fabric of our society and we’re proud to honour them within our communities.”

A New Zealand Olympian is an athlete who has been both selected into the New Zealand Olympic Team and has been accredited into the team at the Olympic Games.

The function in Auckland takes place as around the world communities celebrate Olympic Day on June 23. Olympic Day is a celebration of the Olympic Movement and its values of excellence, friendship and respect. In New Zealand school children have been invited to participate in the Olympic Day Run and a series of lectures about the Olympic Games are being held in Auckland and Wellington. A New Zealand Olympians Wall of Honour will be unveiled in the Olympic Museum Gallery in Wellington.

Names who will be attending the Auckland function include Halberg, four-time gold medalist Ferguson, triathlete, Carter, plus gold medalists from the 1976 hockey team as well as notable sportspeople, Chris Dickson(yachting), Barry MaGee(athletics), Chantel Brunner(athletics), Li Chunli(table tennis), swimmers Alison Fitch and Liz Coster and boxer Garth De Silva as well as many others from past years and recent Olympics.

Pins will be collected by family members or colleges on behalf of Jack Lovelock, Anthony Mosse, Hannah McLean and a number of other athletes who are competitng around the world or based overseas.

The night will be co-presented by Auckland Mayor, John Banks and NZOC President Mike Stanley with Geoff Bryan as the mc.