August 12, 2024 • 10 mins
With the Games over, New Zealand Team Chef de Mission Nigel Avery has thanked the athletes for their performances and the way they represented Aotearoa outside the sporting arena.
Avery joined Piney to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldergrave
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZEDB cows up the track, starting the move, they work
their way around of the.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Home straight.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Away goes Alise Andrews up against Leah Friedrich.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Andrews comes around the bed. She's in control the timely
aloud of of course. Now here she goes around the bed.
Can she pedal to a new chapter in New Zealand
cycling history? She can and less Andrews. He's a double
gold medalist in Paris. She completes her own after tree off,
second time gold medalist and what a ride that was.
(00:50):
She pups her arms in the air and there's a look.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Of delight on her face.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She waves her right arm at the crowd as she
heads up the embankment. Alise Andrews has beaten Lea Friedrich's
two nil in the beast of three right off at
the Belodrome and the women's spread.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
Yeah, that's Alexandrews winning our tenth and final gold medal
last night. Elie Wallaston tagged on a bronze at the
end to take our total to twenty. New Zealand Chef
de Mission Nigel Avery joins us out of Paris on
his Monday morning Nigel, thanks for taking our call. I
know medals are not the only measure of success of
an Olympic Games, but how pleased are you to have
(01:28):
the New Zealand team bringing home twenty of them, including
ten gold medals?
Speaker 6 (01:34):
Yeah, it's pretty incurdible, really obviously very proud of the team,
the efforts themselves and the team behind the team which
created the environment to allow that to happen.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I yess, but yeah, it's just been awesome.
Speaker 6 (01:46):
It's been really amazing just to feel the energy that
we can from the support back home in New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It really does help. And yes, certainly it will be
grateful for that.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
I know we spoke before the game started, and as
I say, I know that the medals aren't the only
currency you work in, but almost twenty, Like, did you
think twenty was possible? That's the record of course, same
as Tokyo team gold.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Did you expect this? Yeah? Well I think.
Speaker 6 (02:14):
I mean you guys all sort of asking about three
weeks before the games, hey, what's what's your medal? Talley,
and I said, look, I don't think about medals, and
I didn't, but right up until about four or five
days ago, and ship this is going pretty well.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Who we got left?
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Yeah, so look, I guess just what we asked the
athletes to focus on their process and the outcome will
take care of yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
That's kind of what we're doing as well.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
And yeah, I think, you know, to be honest, I
thought were going to I don't think we're going to
touch what happened in Tokyo because that was amazing.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So to end up being where we are, it's quite incredible.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
What are the other metrics you use to measure the
success of the games and and how do you measure
them by those metrics?
Speaker 6 (03:00):
Yeah, so we sent surly out to all the athletes
and the sports support and performance support teams just to
sort of ask a whole lot of different stuff, you know,
so basically, what what do we do well?
Speaker 4 (03:10):
What we didn't do well?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Walk we do be the type thing And one of
them is, you know, did the environment that we create
help them in their performance? And that's that's a real
that's a real key one for us. And other one
as you know, did you feel like you were in
a museum with pride sort of thing? So it's kind
of a quantitative qualitative one. But if they feel that
(03:34):
we buy out our environment helping in, then we've done
a good job.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I asked you three weeks ago when we chatted, if
you were prepared for the unexpected? Did you have to
fight any fighters or or not?
Speaker 6 (03:50):
I guess the key one that's been very public was
drone Gate. You know, the Canadians firing up a drone
over the women's football team. That was unexpected and really
disappointing in the Canadians. The the community were absolutely gutted
and horrified the actions of the football team. So it
kind of been a funny way. So it brought us
closer together as a because we actually had to work
(04:12):
a lot to get that behind the sevens to work
out what was going to happen, and it just soaked
up a lot of time through everybody. And that's that's
the key thing that you know, we we should have
been focusing on other things that it drags out a
number of us to discussing that issue.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah, but in the end, I think as bad as
it was, we were on the right side of that.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
I suppose we're the I guess the victims, and so
I didn't have to deal with anything on the on
the when we weren't on the right side, which was good.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And very pleasing.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Absolutely. I know one thing you do really well Nigel
has celebrate success, and you know the image is coming
back of the way that those who had won medals
were well welcome back, you know, was was really you know,
goosebump stuff. But how did you make sure that athletes
wi come back to the village not having quite achieved
what they hoped, I got the support that they needed
as well.
Speaker 7 (05:01):
Yeah, so we I'm just going to walk as a
whole lot of movements that the here's quite noisy, that's
all right, Yeah, we we I guess basically we just
sort of give give people time and space and so
that's I guess the first thing.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
But we're really really mindful of particularly early.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Days when people around is you know, we're always really
upbeat in the villages.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And he has it going what do you have to
do today?
Speaker 6 (05:24):
And because you don't really know every single person and
what they've just been doing, and can be really careful
and so we talked a lot about just how we
approach people in general, just to just to make sure
we didn't sort of snook of them if they weren't
sort of in a great place.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I think we've got a great uh you.
Speaker 6 (05:40):
Know, sports like team and wellness team around and so
we we sort of have we identified people, you know,
looking at flat we make sure they're buddied up, and
we we had a chat.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
How did you decide on Dame Lisa Carrington Infant Butcher
as your closing ceremony flag bearers?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Yeah, it was pretty hard to look past Dame Lisa
Swift games.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
You know, I don't want to put words in their mouth,
but you know, potentially maybe you last, so you know,
to give you the respect of that that thing and
then and I think for Finn, for me was how
we reacted after very close non selection of Tokyo, you know,
bouncing back, you know, making a choice for right, I'm
going to get stuck in and do this, and boy
he did, and so you know, so that was that
(06:24):
was that. So they were really both very stoked, proud
to be carrying that flag and we had an amazing
I guess announcement for them because we had sailing, canoe,
sprint and track cycling come back from their villages into
the main village in Saint Denis and so it was
an incredible atmosphere last night, and I guess it's a
(06:44):
bit of a sign of what things were like when
the teams are all together and we're now now there
you know, there was a spread apartment obviously good reason,
but it was nice to get a lot of people
together last night and celebrate as a team.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Were you able to get out to watch many of
the kiwis in action, like actually physically be there or
were you based mainly at the village.
Speaker 6 (07:05):
I was really pushed and got a lot of rubber
miles on the roads running around supporting.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, so I was extremely lucky to be going around
in Paris.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It's quite a broad city and quite busy with traffic,
so initially try to do too much and just run
himself for Reagan and missed a bunch of stuff. So
I kind of quite selective in the end, and just
when we went to see people that maybe have had
a medal chance that I knew that maybe didn't, but
they deserved just as much support, And it was Yeah,
I mean, I'm ancrivileged, privileged role to lead the team,
(07:40):
but I mean I love sport and be able to
watch so much for it lives. It's just quite amazing.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
There's been a bit of talk around. I'm sure you've
heard it about a Commonwealth Games possibly in Glasgow in
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Have you have you heard that talk? I have heard
that talk and I hope it goes ahead.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
We were understanding that there might be an announcement during
the Games here, but that's sort of been pushed out
a little while. So I think I think what they're
wanting for support of the the respective government for for
that financial side, and then they'll be making announcements. So
I understand it's going to be different to the past.
So we'll just wait and see what that actually turns
(08:20):
out to be when the announcement's made.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Do you have a favorite moment of these Games, Nigel.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
I've got a lot, huge amount, and I think I
mean probably there's so many, but I think pretty yesterday
actually at the track and Ali Williston, you know, we
were we were just watched the lease and you know
she's absolutely demolished, you know, her her two races to
win that her second gold. But then Alie sort of
(08:49):
knucking on the last event in Thaming Bronze was just
so exciting at the track watching that, So that's that's possibly.
But then you know, Julian David, you know, qualifying through
the final which an amazing exciting event that there's just
so many and I'm sure everybody has got their own
as well, and that's the beauty of the Olympics, that
(09:09):
every single person will have that favorite memory and that's
what makes this event so special.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And we look forward to the next one.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Now indeed we do. So what happens now, Node, or
do you have to pack down? When will you be
on a plane home?
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (09:23):
We are packed down now. We've got an early chicken
for the load of those leaving tonight, which.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I'm joining them.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
There's there's a group of athletes about foody odd on
the Emirates flights. And then it's sort of back into
sort of helping move things around the containers and just
get organized. So we have to get out of here
by six pm tomorrow. So it's a big job given
it took days and days to set up. Now we're
we're tearing it down. So it's all part of the deal.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Indeed. Yeah, it's funny, isn't it. You know when we
spoke before the games, it was, you know, it felt like, oh,
we're here, now, but but now here we are and
it's all done and dusted. Congratulations on a terrific Olympic
Games for the New Zealand team, Nigel, and you're oversight
of it, I'm sure has had a huge influence on
the success that we've had. Safe travels, mate, I hope
(10:09):
you get some time to relax and reflect and look
forward to catching up again sometime soon.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Well, thank you guys. I appreciate you sport.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
I's appreciate your taking the call Nigel at a very
busy time at the end of a very very busy
three weeks or so. That's Nigel Avery shift a mission
of the New Zealand team here on News Talks EDB.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
For more from sports talk, listen live to News Talks
ed B from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldergrave
from News Talk.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZEDB cows up the track, starting the move, they work
their way around of the.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Home straight.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Away goes Alise Andrews up against Leah Friedrich.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Andrews comes around the bed. She's in control the timely
aloud of of course. Now here she goes around the bed.
Can she pedal to a new chapter in New Zealand
cycling history? She can and less Andrews. He's a double
gold medalist in Paris. She completes her own after tree off,
second time gold medalist and what a ride that was.
(00:50):
She pups her arms in the air and there's a look.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Of delight on her face.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She waves her right arm at the crowd as she
heads up the embankment. Alise Andrews has beaten Lea Friedrich's
two nil in the beast of three right off at
the Belodrome and the women's spread.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
Yeah, that's Alexandrews winning our tenth and final gold medal
last night. Elie Wallaston tagged on a bronze at the
end to take our total to twenty. New Zealand Chef
de Mission Nigel Avery joins us out of Paris on
his Monday morning Nigel, thanks for taking our call. I
know medals are not the only measure of success of
an Olympic Games, but how pleased are you to have
(01:28):
the New Zealand team bringing home twenty of them, including
ten gold medals?
Speaker 6 (01:34):
Yeah, it's pretty incurdible, really obviously very proud of the team,
the efforts themselves and the team behind the team which
created the environment to allow that to happen.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I yess, but yeah, it's just been awesome.
Speaker 6 (01:46):
It's been really amazing just to feel the energy that
we can from the support back home in New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It really does help. And yes, certainly it will be
grateful for that.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
I know we spoke before the game started, and as
I say, I know that the medals aren't the only
currency you work in, but almost twenty, Like, did you
think twenty was possible? That's the record of course, same
as Tokyo team gold.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Did you expect this? Yeah? Well I think.
Speaker 6 (02:14):
I mean you guys all sort of asking about three
weeks before the games, hey, what's what's your medal? Talley,
and I said, look, I don't think about medals, and
I didn't, but right up until about four or five
days ago, and ship this is going pretty well.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Who we got left?
Speaker 6 (02:31):
Yeah, so look, I guess just what we asked the
athletes to focus on their process and the outcome will
take care of yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
That's kind of what we're doing as well.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
And yeah, I think, you know, to be honest, I
thought were going to I don't think we're going to
touch what happened in Tokyo because that was amazing.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So to end up being where we are, it's quite incredible.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
What are the other metrics you use to measure the
success of the games and and how do you measure
them by those metrics?
Speaker 6 (03:00):
Yeah, so we sent surly out to all the athletes
and the sports support and performance support teams just to
sort of ask a whole lot of different stuff, you know,
so basically, what what do we do well?
Speaker 4 (03:10):
What we didn't do well?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Walk we do be the type thing And one of
them is, you know, did the environment that we create
help them in their performance? And that's that's a real
that's a real key one for us. And other one
as you know, did you feel like you were in
a museum with pride sort of thing? So it's kind
of a quantitative qualitative one. But if they feel that
(03:34):
we buy out our environment helping in, then we've done
a good job.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I asked you three weeks ago when we chatted, if
you were prepared for the unexpected? Did you have to
fight any fighters or or not?
Speaker 6 (03:50):
I guess the key one that's been very public was
drone Gate. You know, the Canadians firing up a drone
over the women's football team. That was unexpected and really
disappointing in the Canadians. The the community were absolutely gutted
and horrified the actions of the football team. So it
kind of been a funny way. So it brought us
closer together as a because we actually had to work
(04:12):
a lot to get that behind the sevens to work
out what was going to happen, and it just soaked
up a lot of time through everybody. And that's that's
the key thing that you know, we we should have
been focusing on other things that it drags out a
number of us to discussing that issue.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Yeah, but in the end, I think as bad as
it was, we were on the right side of that.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
I suppose we're the I guess the victims, and so
I didn't have to deal with anything on the on
the when we weren't on the right side, which was good.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And very pleasing.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Absolutely. I know one thing you do really well Nigel
has celebrate success, and you know the image is coming
back of the way that those who had won medals
were well welcome back, you know, was was really you know,
goosebump stuff. But how did you make sure that athletes
wi come back to the village not having quite achieved
what they hoped, I got the support that they needed
as well.
Speaker 7 (05:01):
Yeah, so we I'm just going to walk as a
whole lot of movements that the here's quite noisy, that's
all right, Yeah, we we I guess basically we just
sort of give give people time and space and so
that's I guess the first thing.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
But we're really really mindful of particularly early.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Days when people around is you know, we're always really
upbeat in the villages.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And he has it going what do you have to
do today?
Speaker 6 (05:24):
And because you don't really know every single person and
what they've just been doing, and can be really careful
and so we talked a lot about just how we
approach people in general, just to just to make sure
we didn't sort of snook of them if they weren't
sort of in a great place.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I think we've got a great uh you.
Speaker 6 (05:40):
Know, sports like team and wellness team around and so
we we sort of have we identified people, you know,
looking at flat we make sure they're buddied up, and
we we had a chat.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
How did you decide on Dame Lisa Carrington Infant Butcher
as your closing ceremony flag bearers?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Yeah, it was pretty hard to look past Dame Lisa
Swift games.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
You know, I don't want to put words in their mouth,
but you know, potentially maybe you last, so you know,
to give you the respect of that that thing and
then and I think for Finn, for me was how
we reacted after very close non selection of Tokyo, you know,
bouncing back, you know, making a choice for right, I'm
going to get stuck in and do this, and boy
he did, and so you know, so that was that
(06:24):
was that. So they were really both very stoked, proud
to be carrying that flag and we had an amazing
I guess announcement for them because we had sailing, canoe,
sprint and track cycling come back from their villages into
the main village in Saint Denis and so it was
an incredible atmosphere last night, and I guess it's a
(06:44):
bit of a sign of what things were like when
the teams are all together and we're now now there
you know, there was a spread apartment obviously good reason,
but it was nice to get a lot of people
together last night and celebrate as a team.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Were you able to get out to watch many of
the kiwis in action, like actually physically be there or
were you based mainly at the village.
Speaker 6 (07:05):
I was really pushed and got a lot of rubber
miles on the roads running around supporting.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, so I was extremely lucky to be going around
in Paris.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It's quite a broad city and quite busy with traffic,
so initially try to do too much and just run
himself for Reagan and missed a bunch of stuff. So
I kind of quite selective in the end, and just
when we went to see people that maybe have had
a medal chance that I knew that maybe didn't, but
they deserved just as much support, And it was Yeah,
I mean, I'm ancrivileged, privileged role to lead the team,
(07:40):
but I mean I love sport and be able to
watch so much for it lives. It's just quite amazing.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
There's been a bit of talk around. I'm sure you've
heard it about a Commonwealth Games possibly in Glasgow in
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Have you have you heard that talk? I have heard
that talk and I hope it goes ahead.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
We were understanding that there might be an announcement during
the Games here, but that's sort of been pushed out
a little while. So I think I think what they're
wanting for support of the the respective government for for
that financial side, and then they'll be making announcements. So
I understand it's going to be different to the past.
So we'll just wait and see what that actually turns
(08:20):
out to be when the announcement's made.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Do you have a favorite moment of these Games, Nigel.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
I've got a lot, huge amount, and I think I
mean probably there's so many, but I think pretty yesterday
actually at the track and Ali Williston, you know, we
were we were just watched the lease and you know
she's absolutely demolished, you know, her her two races to
win that her second gold. But then Alie sort of
(08:49):
knucking on the last event in Thaming Bronze was just
so exciting at the track watching that, So that's that's possibly.
But then you know, Julian David, you know, qualifying through
the final which an amazing exciting event that there's just
so many and I'm sure everybody has got their own
as well, and that's the beauty of the Olympics, that
(09:09):
every single person will have that favorite memory and that's
what makes this event so special.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And we look forward to the next one.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Now indeed we do. So what happens now, Node, or
do you have to pack down? When will you be
on a plane home?
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (09:23):
We are packed down now. We've got an early chicken
for the load of those leaving tonight, which.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I'm joining them.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
There's there's a group of athletes about foody odd on
the Emirates flights. And then it's sort of back into
sort of helping move things around the containers and just
get organized. So we have to get out of here
by six pm tomorrow. So it's a big job given
it took days and days to set up. Now we're
we're tearing it down. So it's all part of the deal.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Indeed. Yeah, it's funny, isn't it. You know when we
spoke before the games, it was, you know, it felt like, oh,
we're here, now, but but now here we are and
it's all done and dusted. Congratulations on a terrific Olympic
Games for the New Zealand team, Nigel, and you're oversight
of it, I'm sure has had a huge influence on
the success that we've had. Safe travels, mate, I hope
(10:09):
you get some time to relax and reflect and look
forward to catching up again sometime soon.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Well, thank you guys. I appreciate you sport.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
I's appreciate your taking the call Nigel at a very
busy time at the end of a very very busy
three weeks or so. That's Nigel Avery shift a mission
of the New Zealand team here on News Talks EDB.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
For more from sports talk, listen live to News Talks
ed B from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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