Article New Zealand Olympic Athletes of 2020

New Zealand Olympic Athletes of 2020

Information sourced from Olympics NZ and Wikipedia

New Zealand competed at the Tokyo, Japan 2020 Olympic games. This was originally supposed to take place in July-August 2020 but was postponed until July-August 2021 due to the covid-19 pandemic. The New Zealand team consisted of 212 athletes, 112 men and 100 women across 21 sports. The New Zealand team collected 20 medals in total - seven gold, six silver and seven bronze. The gold medals were in rowing, rugby sevens and canoeing. The silver medals were in rowing, sevens rugby, sailing and cycling. The bronze medals were in triathlon, tennis, gymnastics, athletics, boxing and golf. Below are some profiles of the athletes that competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Dame Valarie Adams:

Dame Valarie Adams was born on 6th October 1984 in Rotorua, New Zealand. She is a New shot putter which falls under the sports category of athletics in the Olympics. She has competed at four Olympic Games, winning two gold and a silver medal in shot put. The 2020 Olympics saw Dame Valarie Adams win a bronze medal in shot put. Her personal best is a massive 21.24m throw at the World Championships in 2011. Dame Valarie Adams has sporting siblings as well her brother is basketball star Steven Adams and her sister is Para athlete Lisa Adams. Dame Valarie Adams is of Tongan descent. 

Lisa Carrington:

Lisa Carrington was born on 23rd of June 1989 in Tauranga New Zealand. She is a flatwater canoeist and is now New Zealand’s most successful Olympian having won a total of five gold medals and one bronze medal. Lisa Carringtons events include the K4 500m, K2 500m and K1. She has won ten world championship golds including seven K1 200m titles. Lisa Carrington has a total medal haul of 17. She was raised in Ōhope a satellite town of Whakatane in the eastern Bay of Plenty. Lisa Carrington is of Te Aitanga-a-Māhakai and Ngāti Porou decent. 

Tom Walsh:

Tom Walsh was born on 1st March 1992 in Timaru, New Zealand. Like Dame Valarie Admas he competes in athletics in the shot put division. He is the current national record holder for both indoor and outdoor shot put. His personal best throw is a massive 22.90m which he set in Doha in 2019. He has won a total of 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 4 bronze medals. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics he won a bronze medal in the shot put final. Aside from shot put Tom Walsh works as a part time builder in Timaru. 

Peter Burling:

Peter Burling was born on 1st January 1991 in Tauranga, New Zealand. He represents New Zealand in the 49er sailing class. He is considered to be one half of the most successful sailing duos in recent history with Blair Tuke. Peter and Blair won gold at the Rio Olympics by a mammoth 43 points - this is the biggest winning margin in any Olympic regatta in the modern era. Prior to this astonishing win Peter and Blair were vertically unbeatable in the four year lead up to the Rio Olympics. The pair have also been involved in the Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup races. Peter Burling is coached by Hamish Wilcox and last year set up an environmental charity called Live Ocean to help New Zealand as world leaders in ocean health. Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.