Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Sailing is New Zealand's most successful Olympic Sport

by Virginia Stracey-Clitherow, Yachting New Zealand on 9 Oct 2000
Sailing is New Zealand's most successful Olympic Sport

"Yachting team can hold their heads high" says YNZ CEO
"Barbara Kendall and Aaron McIntosh's bronze medals at the Sydney Olympic Regatta
makes sailing New Zealand's most successful Olympic sport in the last two decades"
says Yachting New Zealand Chief Executive Simon Wickham.

Speaking after the yachting team returned home this week amidst a wave of criticism
aimed at the NZ Olympic team, Wickham is adamant that the yachting team can hold
their heads high.

"Of the eighteen sports in which NZ sent Olympic reps, sailing achieved eight of NZ's 20
best finishes across all sports, and half the medals" observes Wickham.

Ability to finish in the top ten of the world was a requirement of the Yachting New
Zealand Olympic Selection Policy. In the final count, New Zealand sailors in eight of the
11 sailing events finished within the top 10 of the Olympic fleets.

Wickham continues, "we will always hope to see every sailor return home with a medal
round their necks, but the Olympics is the toughest competition our sailors will ever
faced.

"Winning an Olympic sailing medal is not simply a case of achieving a personal best.
We'll always want a medal in each event and we set the qualification criteria in our sport
accordingly.

"There is no doubt that every member of the New Zealand yachting team went to Sydney
to win a medal. To suggest that they simply 'did not try hard enough' is an insult" he
says.

Adds Wickham, "the level of resources other countries had dedicated to their sailing
teams was staggering, and New Zealand sport needs to be aware of what our athletes
are up against."

NEW ZEALAND OLYMPIC SAILING - MEDAL FACTS

Sailing is the NZ's most successful Olympic sport in the last 20 years (since 1980):
Yachting 13 medals (including 4 gold)
Equestrian 9 medals
Canoeing 7 medals
Rowing 6 medals

Sailing is now NZ's 2nd most successful Olympic sport overall - NZ sailors have won 15
Olympic medals, including 6 gold since NZ was first represented in yachting in 1956.

Athletics leads the NZ medal table with 18 medals - all won between 1908 and 1976.

Related Articles

Tornado Open, Mixed and Youth Europeans day 3
After a windless second day, racing finally resumed on Lake Attersee After a windless second day, racing finally resumed today on Lake Attersee. The first start, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., had to be postponed as the wind failed to appear in the morning.
Posted today at 8:09 am
Hyde Sails One Design September Discount
Thinking of ordering new sails? Now is the time to do so at the best possible prices Thinking of ordering new sails for 2026? Now is the time to do so at the best possible prices with our maximum discount period running until the end of this month on select classes!
Posted today at 8:00 am
Women's Match Racing Worlds in Chicago Day 3
Quarter-Finals set at Women's Match Racing Worlds After a third day of unseasonable light airs on Lake Michigan, the qualifying round-robin stage of the World Sailing Women's Match Racing World Championship concluded, advancing the top eight teams to the quarter-final stage.
Posted today at 7:57 am
30% OFF Vaikobi Duffel & Dry Bags!
This deal ends this Sunday at midnight Whether you're packing for a weekend trip, hitting the water, or just need reliable storage, now's the time to upgrade your gear.
Posted today at 1:00 am
OK Dinghy Worlds at Lake Garda overall
Andrew Mills wins after a epic week for the 212 helms Britain's Andrew Mills has won the 2025 OK Dinghy world championship after an epic week of racing on Lake Garda. With only one race possible on the final day, the result was academic to Mills, who was already discarding a second.
Posted on 19 Sep
Formia to Host 450+ Sailors for ILCA Master Worlds
Sailors from 31 nations have arrived in Italy The 2025 ILCA Master World Championships officially kicked off today in Formia, Italy. This year's event has drawn over 450 sailors from 31 nations, making it one of the largest gatherings of the ILCA Master community worldwide.
Posted on 19 Sep
Noble Marine Musto Skiff UK Nationals day 2
Andy Tarboton moves to the top of the leaderboard It's day 2 at the UK Musto Skiff Nationals at Hayling Island, and with the wind settling in at 5-8 knots from the southeast, it was going to be a tricky day on the water with plenty of snakes and ladders to be found.
Posted on 19 Sep
SailGP prepares for high-stakes Lake Geneva debut
A weekend of tactical, light-air racing on the horizon The Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix begins tomorrow with a weekend of tactical, light-air racing on the horizon. All twelve national teams hit the water today, getting in essential practice laps in the only freshwater venue of the season.
Posted on 19 Sep
Emirates GBR ready for jeopardy on Lake Geneva
Strategist Hannah Mills looking to pick the right shifts Fresh from a win in Saint-Tropez last weekend, Emirates GBR is ready for jeopardy on Lake Geneva as SailGP prepares for the second event of the back-to-back European double-header, the Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix.
Posted on 19 Sep
DF95 Summer Series at Barton's Point week 6
Penultimate event runs in a warm breeze with big waves 10 Boats raced in the penultimate East Kent DF95 summer series event in a stiff but warm 17-18knot breeze and big waves using a mix of B and C rigs.
Posted on 19 Sep