August 12, 2024 • 21 mins
The 2024 Paris Olympics have come to an end – and what a fortnight it has been for the New Zealand Team.
With ten golds, seven silver and three bronze, our athletes are bringing home the most Gold medals ever won in a single Olympics, and have equalled our record set in Tokyo.
With the likes of Dame Lisa Carrington and Lydia Ko ensuring their place in the history books, to rising stars like Hamish Kerr, Ellesse Andrews and Finn Butcher, there were plenty of Kiwi sporting stars in action.
With the games now over, and the four year journey to Los Angeles 2028 already beginning for some, we’re recapping the Olympic highs and lows today on The Front Page with Newstalk ZB sports reporter and Gold Sport commentator, Elliott Smith.
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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.
Host: Chelsea Daniels
Sound Engineer: Paddy Fox
Producer: Ethan Sills
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Kyoda.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a
daily podcast presented by The New Zealand Herald.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
The twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Four Paris Olympics have come to an end, and what
a fortnight it's been for the New Zealand team. With
ten gold's, seven silver and three bronze, our athletes are
bringing home the most gold medals ever won in a
single Olympics and have.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Equalled our record set in Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
With the likes of Dame Lisa Carrington and Lydia Coe ensuring.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Their place in the history books.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
To rising stars like Hamish Kerr, Elise Andrews and Finn Butcher,
there were plenty of Kiwi sporting stars in action. With
the Games now over and the four year journey to
Los Angeles twenty twenty eight already beginning for some.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
We're recapping the Olympic highs and lows today on the front.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Page with Newstalk zb's sports reporter and gold sport commentator
Elliott Smith.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Elliott, let's start with the highlights.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
If you had to pick just one kei we medal
to celebrate, which one would it be?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Well? Goodness, Chelsea coming in hot early on look, I
think for me it'd be the high jump of Hamish Kerr.
I think he overcame some issues in the qualifying and
then in the final just brought her out and was
so so good in that and the drama that came
in that with the jump off and everything like that.
You know, New Zealand's medals in the track and field
have been few and far between. You think of Valerie
(01:39):
Adams in recent times, Tom Walsh. But to win a
gold medal in something like the high jump I thought
was exceptional. And just the celebration, racing around Star de France,
around the turf and celebrating in that manner, that one
stands out to me. But trying to narrow it down
very very difficult. But I thought that was a pretty
special one from a New Zealand perspective.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
And it's interesting, hey, because they both decided to the
jump off in the end, And I've seen some American
reports giving the American competitor some slack for being selfish,
whereas in Tokyo didn't they share the medal and then
got the same amount of slack.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
That's right, I don't think you're gonna win. I think
that's always going to be a difficult conversation because some
people will go and like in Tokyo, oh, you know,
it's not really in the what is in the Olympic spirit,
but it isn't to have a shared gold medal. This
time around they didn't share it and there was a
distinct gold, distinct silver. I think for me, I thought
that was probably the way to go about it. You've
come this far, you're going to get the least silver anyway,
why not try and split it and go for the gold.
(02:34):
I thought it added extra drama, extra tension. Look, I'm
sure order being special for Hamish Cure if he shared
the gold medal, But in some ways sharing the gold's
almost like sharing a silver. It's not quite as distinct
as the two. Whereas with Hamish curR now he knows
he is the best high jumper in the world. He's
won the Olympic gold medal, He's not sharing it with
anyone and he gets there on his own.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So Dame Lisa Carrington the goat in the boat with
eight golds. Now she's now ranked sixteenth of all time,
ahead of Usain Bolt.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The only New Zealander in the top one hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Ready to race in the women's kayak for if they
can't see the finish line.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
It is gold for.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
New Zealand and the sixth Golden moment for Dame Lisa.
New Zealand's supposed to decorate an Olympian, Lisa Carrington strikes
gold again.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Are we ever going to see another one like her?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I don't know that we will, and we should treasure
it for as long as her career lasts. Whether she
decides to go again for LA in four years time
or decides that that's enough, you wouldn't blame her either way.
If she decides that her eight gold medals is enough,
then ghepsolutely good on her. But the success that she's
had in not only the individual by but what she's
brought to the K two and the K four has
(03:42):
been immense for New Zealand and I think obviously she's
our greatest Olympian, but just looking at the way that
she brings others up to her skill level in the
K two and the K four, they wouldn't win without her.
She's like the motor right at the front of the boat.
She's so metronomic in the way that she gets in
the kayak. Obviously she's got incredible strength, but there's something
that she just seems to have a symbiotic relationship with
(04:04):
the boat and the water and the paddle that when
she gets on the water, she is completely unstoppable. She
knows the beats that she has to hit, she knows
where she needs to be to win a race, and
she pulls along the other person in the boat in
the cave, so the other three in the K four
without wanting to diminish their success as well. But she's
so integral to that, so we need to absolutely treasure
it while at last. And to think that she's been
(04:24):
at the top of her game in a number of
boats right from London twenty twelve through to this Olympics
in twenty twenty four, now at thirty five years of
age through twelve years of success and no one has
really got close to her, especially in the individual events,
is remarkable. Look, I wouldn't roll her out going to
Los Angeles in four years time. She doesn't look like
(04:45):
she is being close to being court yet, especially in
the individual boats. So hey, we might see her extend
on that success as in New Zealander and maybe try
and catch some of those others that are at the
top of the all timetable for the world.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Well, after she did her races, it looked like she
could go and do them again.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, that's it. She definitely seems to FaZe that she's
done the race, and everyone else looks like they're about
to vomit on the block once they get out, and
she's like fresh as a daisy. It's remarkable that she
can do that. And you know, thirty five, she's still young.
A lot of the competitors around and the clerking seem
to go to their to late thirty. So it's probably
a fifty to fifty call as to whether she competes again.
And LA certainly didn't close the door on that necessarily,
(05:22):
so I imagine she'll take some time now to figure
out whether she does want to go out to LA
and whether that competitive energy still burns bright. And already
what she's done as Schlsea has been remarkable. If she
was able to build on that in LA, it would
be quite incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
And I can see her hanging around the Olympics as
well and really building up the younger generations like she
already kind of has that.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, that's right, I mean the competitors or the teammates
rather she had in the K two and the K
four are still very very young and her experience is invaluable.
It was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony along
with Finn Butcher, so that is remarkable. I imagine she's
got a great future in the sport, whether it's as
a coach or a mentor whatever it might be. As
I mentioned before, that relationship that she seems to have
(06:02):
with the boats is intrinsic. It seems to be in
her soul. But if she can pass down some of
those tips, so the next generation there might be another
someone who can come close to Lisa Carrington or maybe
replicate some of those eforts on the water and the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
To come so Lydia Coe's gold gives her a complete
set of medals, a first for a golfer of any
gender at the Olympics, and qualifies.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Her for the LGPA Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Is there anything else for her to do or she
basically just clocked her sport at twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
She's long talked about wanting to retire at the age
of thirty, even back when she was a teenager she
sort of said she's not in golf for life. This
isn't going to be everything. She's obviously very very good
at it, but has other things that she wants to
do once she has thirty. And I spoke to her
before the Olympics and she was still quite set on that,
saying it would be her last Olympic Games. I mean,
you can look at her career and go she was
absolute prodigy, very very young, switched to being a pro
(07:03):
one major's, you know, when she was still very young.
Hasn't had a major win in a while in terms
of those events every year, but completed the Olympics the
best Olympic golfer as it stands in history with the
three different medals. Maybe she would like more majors, but
she seems to rise when the Olympics come on. It
just seems to be an event that she can play
a best golf at. And whether it's just different sort
(07:25):
of the majors where she has had some success, but
maybe not as much as she would like. She seems
to target the Olympics. And while we don't see her
down in New Zealand very long, she's very proud in
New Zealand. It always talks about how proud she is
to represent New Zealand on the LPGA tour. But also
when you're doing it at the Olympics, wearing the silver fern,
you're hearing the national anthem at the end, there's something
clearly very special about that. And look, I know she
(07:46):
said it's her last Olympics. Maybe she might get her
arm twisted. You know, she plays a lot of her
golf in America and has a residency there as well.
Whether there is a prospect she might play in LA
twenty twenty eight at the stage, no, but similar Lisa
Carrington wouldn't rule it out.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Co kept her calm and finished in style with a
birdie the woman in all black on the final green,
enjoying the adulation.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And obviously we can't shout out absolutely everyone, but who
else caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Oh look Alexandres was phenomenal and what a way to
finish the Olympic Games with a couple of gold medals.
I know her on the track and the kreen and
then in the sprint. She is absolutely remarkable what she
can do and still so very young. She's got a
couple more Olympic cycles left in her and I really
love the way that nothing seems to FaZe Alexandrews. She's
(08:45):
got an eye for the finish line or eye for
the valodrome. She just absolutely puts her head down and
just peddles her heart out and at times it doesn't
look like as any other competitors out in the valodrome.
That's the kind of the way that she races. She's
just doing it knowing that if she hits her marks,
similar to Lisa Carrington, if she does what she needs
to do, she's confident that she will get the gold medal.
Success so'd win in the sprint, in the Kerran, two
(09:07):
big events in the track. Cycling was absolutely special. So
for me that's the other heart of the Games, at
least Andrews winning those gold medals.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Now, if we look into nationally, who were the standout
athletes from other countries?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
In your view, oh, I think you look at someone
Biles and the way that she came back from the
twisties as she calls them, in twenty twenty one, the
mental health issues she had there and there was so
much pressure on her in twenty twenty one, and obviously
all eyes were on her again when she came back
this time around. But to do that, and I know
she's remarked around, you know the fact that gymnastics is
a young person sport and she's only in her late twenties.
(09:40):
But for a gymnast that's pretty late in their career
or very very late in their career. But to come
back and do it and prove that she is the
greatest gymnast of all time at the Paris Olympics, and look,
I know that the La will be standing there. She's
already had to say towards the end of her career,
but that home Olympics might be something that draws her back.
But it was great to see her back out and
winning gold medals at the back end of her career.
(10:02):
The swimming I thought was excellent, especially in the female class.
We had eric A fee Weather they're from a New
Zealand perspective, who went close in the women's four hundred meters,
but Arion Tipmas, some of Macintosh and Katie Ladecki dominated
the pool from an international perspective in the women's event,
I thought that was outstanding. In the track and field
again had some surprises. You know, Noah La was winning
the men's one hundred meters then getting COVID and still
(10:24):
managing at bronze was outrageous. We had the Dutch winning
the for by four hundred meter women's relay, So I
always love those track and field events to put some
surprises up and I think we saw the cream rise
to the top once again around that. And if I
was to signal out a favorite similar Tolexa Carrington, Katie
Ladecki from America. She started in twenty twelve, light Lisa
Carrington continuing at twenty twenty four, and she's got a
(10:47):
home Olympics potentially in twenty three eight that I'm sure
she's probably targeting as well. But watching her in the
pool is watching Lisa Carrington in the boat. No one
can touch you.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And the Refugee Olympic team won their first medal as well.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, absolutely, what a special moment for them.
Speaker 6 (11:03):
Box, Cindy and Gamba made history by winning a first
ever medal for the Refugee Olympic team. Gamba was born
in Cameroon and moved to the UK at the age
of eleven, but has been unable to obtain citizenship. The
Olympic Refugee team has made up of thirty seven athletes
from eleven different countries, all.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
The harrowing things that the refugee group have been through.
To go through that and not only compete at the Olympics,
but to do it on their own terms, wearing the
not the colors of the nation, but the adopted colors
of the refugee status, and to win a medal is
incredible because they are deserving of being there. They win
medals and I thought that was absolutely fantastic to see
(11:44):
them there once again.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
This Olympics saw the return of surfing, skateboarding, and sport
climbing and an attempt to bring in breaking or break
dancing on those first three, which are now core Olympic sports.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Do you think do you think worries on all.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Three of them still? To be honest, I think surfing
this time felt a little bit isolated. It was held
in Tahiti. Obviously, you know there's a French connection there,
but it just felt like the tyranny of distance was
so great between that it just didn't feel connected to
the Olympics. I think that was an issue. I'm still
not sure. It's rarely hit its straps in the Olympics yet.
Skateboarding I think is worthy of being there. I think
(12:23):
it's a real sport that can connect with young people.
The Olympics is trying to shed this image of being
a little too fuddy duddy, and I think events like skateboarding,
you know, they really belong. It connects with the youth
and the talent that's on display there is very, very impressive.
And I really like the sport climbing. I think that's
a great event. It's rapid, it's fast. Seeing the New
Zealander is involved there, but just seeing how quickly they
(12:45):
can go up the war on the straight speed climbing
is five seconds to race up a wall. Those the
kind of events the Olympics should be looking at to
try and innovate. There are popular events on their own,
bring them into the Olympic fold fields.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right and do you reckon? Breaking? Is one and done?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Do you think I suspect so? Yeah, I'm not sure
that entirely worked. Poor old ray Gun out of Australia.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
She gave it a go. Could you imagine this is
the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
This isn't about giving you the guy, this is about
the pinnacle. Yeah, just felt a little bit out of it,
felt like a character from a Crystal Lily skitch in
all honesty.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
It felt so out of place, it was so it
was awful to.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, and look, the memes have been constant in the
last couple of days since she competed, and I feel
sorry for her to an extent, but it was a
little bit silly. The whole thing, the breakdancing. I don't
think it's going to be back and I don't think
it works, so we can just consign that to the
Olympic rubbishman.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
I think in her Ossie, Green and Gold trackies, we
saw a kangaroo hop, the sprinkler pedstad and all of
it earned her exactly zero points from the judges. I
think justice for Reygun anyway. I think she's she went
out there and she gave it a go. She was
the best Australia guy not known for our breakdancing talent.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
No, it's not going to be in Brisbane in twenty
thirty two, so poor old Reygun. I don't think we'll
be compete get a home Olympics.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Kayak Cross made its jaboo as well and clinched us
a gold medal for Finn Butcher.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Are you excited to see that continue?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I am.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
I thought that was one of the highlights of the
Games in all honesty. In terms of the new sports,
it's almost like the TV shirt gladiators. You know, you've
got some tension between the competitors. They're allowed to hit
each other within reason. They're allowed to bash each other
with the boats. They're all scrambling down this course, and
not only that, they're going on a whitewater rapid course,
so you're trying to beat your competitors to the line.
It felt like it really worked and there was a
(14:30):
It was great to see a Kiwi win that, But
I thought it was an event that the Olympics kind
of needs. Sometimes you're very much competing in sort of
time trials or races and lanes. This is you know,
going elbowing each other. You can do pretty much whatever
you like within reasons. So I thought that was a
real success for the KaiA Cross. So I'm excited to
see that back in four years time.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Obviously, not every kiwi who went to Paris is coming
home with a medal. Do you think there are any
kiwis who will really be feeling it the worst right now? Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Look, I think there's certainly some that were expected to
win medals and didn't come away with it. You know,
I think the shot potters and Tom Walsh and Jacko
Girl may have thought they were a chance of a
medal for sure. Didn't happen. The men sevens team failed
to deliver in the opening week, and I think with
our swimmers as well. I mentioned eric A fair Weather
before she was beaten by three of probably the greatest
female swimmers of all time in Ladecki, Macintosh and Tipmas,
(15:34):
she would have maybe thought that she's a chance of
a medal. Didn't quite happen. Lewis Clairbert I thought had
a disappointing game, so there was a lot of eyes
on him and what he could potentially do in the
individual medleys just didn't click for her and he battled
to get going at these Olympics. So it's different for everyone,
isn't it. For the Olympics, there's a lot that don't
necessarily go there to make up the numbers, but they
know that a medal is probably beyond their reach, but
maybe a making a final or a PB is a
(15:56):
success for them. And others go chasing that gold medal,
chasing silver, chasing bronze, and when it doesn't happen, that's
obviously a failure in their eyes. So I think those
are some of the failures that'll be there. And look,
New Zealand's long absence without a medal in the pool
continues nineteen ninety six and Atlanta, that gap is going
to extend out to at least thirty two years.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Cycling, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing. We do seem to do
quite well at those concentrated group of sports, don't we.
How come those are the ones where all the funding goes.
Is it because we're bringing home medals or are we
bringing home medals because that's where all the funding goes?
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I think yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I think it's a bit of a circle of funding
brings results and brings medals, therefore it gets more funding
the next time around when they go cap in hands
to get the allocation of their funding. You've got to
basically win medals to get money and then once you do,
you sort of on the right track there. I mean,
those are the sports that New Zealand has been traditionally
very successful at and the Olympic context, Cycling has been
(16:53):
very very good in delivering medals for New Zealand, so
to rowing and kayaking. Therefore they get more money to
continue on that trajectory in sports that maybe New Zealand
has had success in previously, like hockey. When the success
runs out, the tap of funding runs out as well.
I don't think throwing money at things necessarily means that
you're going to get results, but I think it certainly helps.
Australia has got very, very good swimmers, but I think
(17:16):
the profile of swimming in Australia is high. Here you
have athletes who want to go in and start swimming,
whereas here in New Zealand. I don't think that necessarily
is the case. I think there's definitely a question around
the funding model in New Zealand. We target those sports
that do deliver a little bit metals. You can make
an argument saying maybe we should put some more money
into the swimmings of the world. Would it return success?
I don't know. Basketball often is brought up. You know,
(17:38):
it's a worldwide sport that we're okay it and in
a context we didn't make the Olympics this time around,
but if you put some more funding in there's a
possibility they could have success there. So there's always the
prienial question around the funding. Do you fund the sports
that were New Zealand is good at or do you
fund the ones that have more of a worldwide profile.
I think that debate is going to continue for as
long as I'm alive. I don't think they'll ever be
(17:59):
a particular answer to that, Chelsea. But I think you
direct the funding where you're likely to have success, and
on the basis of that and the basis of the
return at these Olympic Games, it's hard to argue that
they've got it wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Well, if you look at other sports like athletics or
the triathlon, for instance, our success there seems to be
driven by the talent of an individual rather than the
cohort of people.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Hey, do we need to be.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Looking at funding more sports to build up bigger teams
create more of a talent pool.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Quite possibly. I mean, I think it's different with some
of those individual sports more so than a team. Sometimes
you get that just absolute freak of nature that is
capable of doing things in the pool or on the
track or in the field that are deserving of money.
But just because you throw money at you may not
necessarily find those things. I think there is some success
New Zealand could have with swimming, which has had a
(18:46):
fair bit of money thrown at it, and we've got
Erica Fairweather and Lewis Clebert or the two shining stars
at the moment. But I'm not sure compared to the
Australias of the world and the Americas that tip so
much money into those programs that New Zealand will ever
be able to compete financially. So I think you have
to rely on that freak of nature coming through that
is just worthy of the money, rather than building the
(19:06):
teams up that way.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
And if we only do fund the sports that we
know that we're good at, doesn't that prevent us from
adapting for the future and finding those new sports like
that climbing event.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Absolutely, And it's an interesting one. How do you get
people interested. We're probably watching the Olympics as a start,
and I'm sure there's krewek kids that are out there
wanting to try sport climbing as a result of the
two New Zealanders competing in the sport climbing. And I'm
sure it's the case for a number of sports out
there that you might see more doing the high jump
because of Hamish curve. Kids might want to track up
track cycling, which has druditionally got a different barrier into
(19:37):
it than going down and doing a bit of high
jump at the local athletics field. So you got to
find a way to open those doors for these athletes
and create the opportunities for them. It's very easy. From
a New Zealand school suspective and sports perspective, you know,
a lot of schools run rugby programs, they run athletics programs,
they run to an extent swimming programs as well. That's
more solid and clubs, so the programs are there. From
(19:58):
a high school perspective, primary school to high school, getting
kids into sport climbing is always going to be more
and more difficult, So I think you've got to find
ways to innovate and get players in. And that's the
basketball thing as well. It's on the world stage. New
Zealand's probably never going to win a gold medal and basketball,
but competing on a world stage seeing the New Zealand's
black singlet representing there, it would be very very key
(20:19):
in getting more kiwis into the sport as well. So
I think it's argument and a question that never quite
has a complete answer, and I think you know, there's
only a certain pot of money as well, Chelsea, isn't
there that they can allocate to these sports and you've
got to target the one that perennially New Zealand has success.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
And thanks for joining us, Elliot.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
That said, for this episode of the Front Page. You
can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage
at ZAD Herald dot co dot nz. The Front Page
is produced by Ethan Seals with sound engineer Patty Fox.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I'm Chelsea Daniels.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Subscribe to the Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And tune in tomorrow for another look. Find the headlines
Kyoda.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a
daily podcast presented by The New Zealand Herald.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
The twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Four Paris Olympics have come to an end, and what
a fortnight it's been for the New Zealand team. With
ten gold's, seven silver and three bronze, our athletes are
bringing home the most gold medals ever won in a
single Olympics and have.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Equalled our record set in Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
With the likes of Dame Lisa Carrington and Lydia Coe ensuring.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Their place in the history books.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
To rising stars like Hamish Kerr, Elise Andrews and Finn Butcher,
there were plenty of Kiwi sporting stars in action. With
the Games now over and the four year journey to
Los Angeles twenty twenty eight already beginning for some.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
We're recapping the Olympic highs and lows today on the front.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Page with Newstalk zb's sports reporter and gold sport commentator
Elliott Smith.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Elliott, let's start with the highlights.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
If you had to pick just one kei we medal
to celebrate, which one would it be?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Well? Goodness, Chelsea coming in hot early on look, I
think for me it'd be the high jump of Hamish Kerr.
I think he overcame some issues in the qualifying and
then in the final just brought her out and was
so so good in that and the drama that came
in that with the jump off and everything like that.
You know, New Zealand's medals in the track and field
have been few and far between. You think of Valerie
(01:39):
Adams in recent times, Tom Walsh. But to win a
gold medal in something like the high jump I thought
was exceptional. And just the celebration, racing around Star de France,
around the turf and celebrating in that manner, that one
stands out to me. But trying to narrow it down
very very difficult. But I thought that was a pretty
special one from a New Zealand perspective.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
And it's interesting, hey, because they both decided to the
jump off in the end, And I've seen some American
reports giving the American competitor some slack for being selfish,
whereas in Tokyo didn't they share the medal and then
got the same amount of slack.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
That's right, I don't think you're gonna win. I think
that's always going to be a difficult conversation because some
people will go and like in Tokyo, oh, you know,
it's not really in the what is in the Olympic spirit,
but it isn't to have a shared gold medal. This
time around they didn't share it and there was a
distinct gold, distinct silver. I think for me, I thought
that was probably the way to go about it. You've
come this far, you're going to get the least silver anyway,
why not try and split it and go for the gold.
(02:34):
I thought it added extra drama, extra tension. Look, I'm
sure order being special for Hamish Cure if he shared
the gold medal, But in some ways sharing the gold's
almost like sharing a silver. It's not quite as distinct
as the two. Whereas with Hamish curR now he knows
he is the best high jumper in the world. He's
won the Olympic gold medal, He's not sharing it with
anyone and he gets there on his own.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So Dame Lisa Carrington the goat in the boat with
eight golds. Now she's now ranked sixteenth of all time,
ahead of Usain Bolt.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The only New Zealander in the top one hundred.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Ready to race in the women's kayak for if they
can't see the finish line.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
It is gold for.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
New Zealand and the sixth Golden moment for Dame Lisa.
New Zealand's supposed to decorate an Olympian, Lisa Carrington strikes
gold again.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Are we ever going to see another one like her?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I don't know that we will, and we should treasure
it for as long as her career lasts. Whether she
decides to go again for LA in four years time
or decides that that's enough, you wouldn't blame her either way.
If she decides that her eight gold medals is enough,
then ghepsolutely good on her. But the success that she's
had in not only the individual by but what she's
brought to the K two and the K four has
(03:42):
been immense for New Zealand and I think obviously she's
our greatest Olympian, but just looking at the way that
she brings others up to her skill level in the
K two and the K four, they wouldn't win without her.
She's like the motor right at the front of the boat.
She's so metronomic in the way that she gets in
the kayak. Obviously she's got incredible strength, but there's something
that she just seems to have a symbiotic relationship with
(04:04):
the boat and the water and the paddle that when
she gets on the water, she is completely unstoppable. She
knows the beats that she has to hit, she knows
where she needs to be to win a race, and
she pulls along the other person in the boat in
the cave, so the other three in the K four
without wanting to diminish their success as well. But she's
so integral to that, so we need to absolutely treasure
it while at last. And to think that she's been
(04:24):
at the top of her game in a number of
boats right from London twenty twelve through to this Olympics
in twenty twenty four, now at thirty five years of
age through twelve years of success and no one has
really got close to her, especially in the individual events,
is remarkable. Look, I wouldn't roll her out going to
Los Angeles in four years time. She doesn't look like
(04:45):
she is being close to being court yet, especially in
the individual boats. So hey, we might see her extend
on that success as in New Zealander and maybe try
and catch some of those others that are at the
top of the all timetable for the world.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Well, after she did her races, it looked like she
could go and do them again.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, that's it. She definitely seems to FaZe that she's
done the race, and everyone else looks like they're about
to vomit on the block once they get out, and
she's like fresh as a daisy. It's remarkable that she
can do that. And you know, thirty five, she's still young.
A lot of the competitors around and the clerking seem
to go to their to late thirty. So it's probably
a fifty to fifty call as to whether she competes again.
And LA certainly didn't close the door on that necessarily,
(05:22):
so I imagine she'll take some time now to figure
out whether she does want to go out to LA
and whether that competitive energy still burns bright. And already
what she's done as Schlsea has been remarkable. If she
was able to build on that in LA, it would
be quite incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
And I can see her hanging around the Olympics as
well and really building up the younger generations like she
already kind of has that.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Yeah, that's right, I mean the competitors or the teammates
rather she had in the K two and the K
four are still very very young and her experience is invaluable.
It was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony along
with Finn Butcher, so that is remarkable. I imagine she's
got a great future in the sport, whether it's as
a coach or a mentor whatever it might be. As
I mentioned before, that relationship that she seems to have
(06:02):
with the boats is intrinsic. It seems to be in
her soul. But if she can pass down some of
those tips, so the next generation there might be another
someone who can come close to Lisa Carrington or maybe
replicate some of those eforts on the water and the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
To come so Lydia Coe's gold gives her a complete
set of medals, a first for a golfer of any
gender at the Olympics, and qualifies.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Her for the LGPA Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Is there anything else for her to do or she
basically just clocked her sport at twenty seven.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
She's long talked about wanting to retire at the age
of thirty, even back when she was a teenager she
sort of said she's not in golf for life. This
isn't going to be everything. She's obviously very very good
at it, but has other things that she wants to
do once she has thirty. And I spoke to her
before the Olympics and she was still quite set on that,
saying it would be her last Olympic Games. I mean,
you can look at her career and go she was
absolute prodigy, very very young, switched to being a pro
(07:03):
one major's, you know, when she was still very young.
Hasn't had a major win in a while in terms
of those events every year, but completed the Olympics the
best Olympic golfer as it stands in history with the
three different medals. Maybe she would like more majors, but
she seems to rise when the Olympics come on. It
just seems to be an event that she can play
a best golf at. And whether it's just different sort
(07:25):
of the majors where she has had some success, but
maybe not as much as she would like. She seems
to target the Olympics. And while we don't see her
down in New Zealand very long, she's very proud in
New Zealand. It always talks about how proud she is
to represent New Zealand on the LPGA tour. But also
when you're doing it at the Olympics, wearing the silver fern,
you're hearing the national anthem at the end, there's something
clearly very special about that. And look, I know she
(07:46):
said it's her last Olympics. Maybe she might get her
arm twisted. You know, she plays a lot of her
golf in America and has a residency there as well.
Whether there is a prospect she might play in LA
twenty twenty eight at the stage, no, but similar Lisa
Carrington wouldn't rule it out.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Co kept her calm and finished in style with a
birdie the woman in all black on the final green,
enjoying the adulation.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And obviously we can't shout out absolutely everyone, but who
else caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Oh look Alexandres was phenomenal and what a way to
finish the Olympic Games with a couple of gold medals.
I know her on the track and the kreen and
then in the sprint. She is absolutely remarkable what she
can do and still so very young. She's got a
couple more Olympic cycles left in her and I really
love the way that nothing seems to FaZe Alexandrews. She's
(08:45):
got an eye for the finish line or eye for
the valodrome. She just absolutely puts her head down and
just peddles her heart out and at times it doesn't
look like as any other competitors out in the valodrome.
That's the kind of the way that she races. She's
just doing it knowing that if she hits her marks,
similar to Lisa Carrington, if she does what she needs
to do, she's confident that she will get the gold medal.
Success so'd win in the sprint, in the Kerran, two
(09:07):
big events in the track. Cycling was absolutely special. So
for me that's the other heart of the Games, at
least Andrews winning those gold medals.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Now, if we look into nationally, who were the standout
athletes from other countries?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
In your view, oh, I think you look at someone
Biles and the way that she came back from the
twisties as she calls them, in twenty twenty one, the
mental health issues she had there and there was so
much pressure on her in twenty twenty one, and obviously
all eyes were on her again when she came back
this time around. But to do that, and I know
she's remarked around, you know the fact that gymnastics is
a young person sport and she's only in her late twenties.
(09:40):
But for a gymnast that's pretty late in their career
or very very late in their career. But to come
back and do it and prove that she is the
greatest gymnast of all time at the Paris Olympics, and look,
I know that the La will be standing there. She's
already had to say towards the end of her career,
but that home Olympics might be something that draws her back.
But it was great to see her back out and
winning gold medals at the back end of her career.
(10:02):
The swimming I thought was excellent, especially in the female class.
We had eric A fee Weather they're from a New
Zealand perspective, who went close in the women's four hundred meters,
but Arion Tipmas, some of Macintosh and Katie Ladecki dominated
the pool from an international perspective in the women's event,
I thought that was outstanding. In the track and field
again had some surprises. You know, Noah La was winning
the men's one hundred meters then getting COVID and still
(10:24):
managing at bronze was outrageous. We had the Dutch winning
the for by four hundred meter women's relay, So I
always love those track and field events to put some
surprises up and I think we saw the cream rise
to the top once again around that. And if I
was to signal out a favorite similar Tolexa Carrington, Katie
Ladecki from America. She started in twenty twelve, light Lisa
Carrington continuing at twenty twenty four, and she's got a
(10:47):
home Olympics potentially in twenty three eight that I'm sure
she's probably targeting as well. But watching her in the
pool is watching Lisa Carrington in the boat. No one
can touch you.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And the Refugee Olympic team won their first medal as well.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah, absolutely, what a special moment for them.
Speaker 6 (11:03):
Box, Cindy and Gamba made history by winning a first
ever medal for the Refugee Olympic team. Gamba was born
in Cameroon and moved to the UK at the age
of eleven, but has been unable to obtain citizenship. The
Olympic Refugee team has made up of thirty seven athletes
from eleven different countries, all.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
The harrowing things that the refugee group have been through.
To go through that and not only compete at the Olympics,
but to do it on their own terms, wearing the
not the colors of the nation, but the adopted colors
of the refugee status, and to win a medal is
incredible because they are deserving of being there. They win
medals and I thought that was absolutely fantastic to see
(11:44):
them there once again.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
This Olympics saw the return of surfing, skateboarding, and sport
climbing and an attempt to bring in breaking or break
dancing on those first three, which are now core Olympic sports.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Do you think do you think worries on all.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Three of them still? To be honest, I think surfing
this time felt a little bit isolated. It was held
in Tahiti. Obviously, you know there's a French connection there,
but it just felt like the tyranny of distance was
so great between that it just didn't feel connected to
the Olympics. I think that was an issue. I'm still
not sure. It's rarely hit its straps in the Olympics yet.
Skateboarding I think is worthy of being there. I think
(12:23):
it's a real sport that can connect with young people.
The Olympics is trying to shed this image of being
a little too fuddy duddy, and I think events like skateboarding,
you know, they really belong. It connects with the youth
and the talent that's on display there is very, very impressive.
And I really like the sport climbing. I think that's
a great event. It's rapid, it's fast. Seeing the New
Zealander is involved there, but just seeing how quickly they
(12:45):
can go up the war on the straight speed climbing
is five seconds to race up a wall. Those the
kind of events the Olympics should be looking at to
try and innovate. There are popular events on their own,
bring them into the Olympic fold fields.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right and do you reckon? Breaking? Is one and done?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Do you think I suspect so? Yeah, I'm not sure
that entirely worked. Poor old ray Gun out of Australia.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
She gave it a go. Could you imagine this is
the Olympics.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
This isn't about giving you the guy, this is about
the pinnacle. Yeah, just felt a little bit out of it,
felt like a character from a Crystal Lily skitch in
all honesty.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
It felt so out of place, it was so it
was awful to.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, and look, the memes have been constant in the
last couple of days since she competed, and I feel
sorry for her to an extent, but it was a
little bit silly. The whole thing, the breakdancing. I don't
think it's going to be back and I don't think
it works, so we can just consign that to the
Olympic rubbishman.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
I think in her Ossie, Green and Gold trackies, we
saw a kangaroo hop, the sprinkler pedstad and all of
it earned her exactly zero points from the judges. I
think justice for Reygun anyway. I think she's she went
out there and she gave it a go. She was
the best Australia guy not known for our breakdancing talent.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
No, it's not going to be in Brisbane in twenty
thirty two, so poor old Reygun. I don't think we'll
be compete get a home Olympics.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Kayak Cross made its jaboo as well and clinched us
a gold medal for Finn Butcher.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Are you excited to see that continue?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I am.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
I thought that was one of the highlights of the
Games in all honesty. In terms of the new sports,
it's almost like the TV shirt gladiators. You know, you've
got some tension between the competitors. They're allowed to hit
each other within reason. They're allowed to bash each other
with the boats. They're all scrambling down this course, and
not only that, they're going on a whitewater rapid course,
so you're trying to beat your competitors to the line.
It felt like it really worked and there was a
(14:30):
It was great to see a Kiwi win that, But
I thought it was an event that the Olympics kind
of needs. Sometimes you're very much competing in sort of
time trials or races and lanes. This is you know,
going elbowing each other. You can do pretty much whatever
you like within reasons. So I thought that was a
real success for the KaiA Cross. So I'm excited to
see that back in four years time.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Obviously, not every kiwi who went to Paris is coming
home with a medal. Do you think there are any
kiwis who will really be feeling it the worst right now? Oh?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Look, I think there's certainly some that were expected to
win medals and didn't come away with it. You know,
I think the shot potters and Tom Walsh and Jacko
Girl may have thought they were a chance of a
medal for sure. Didn't happen. The men sevens team failed
to deliver in the opening week, and I think with
our swimmers as well. I mentioned eric A fair Weather
before she was beaten by three of probably the greatest
female swimmers of all time in Ladecki, Macintosh and Tipmas,
(15:34):
she would have maybe thought that she's a chance of
a medal. Didn't quite happen. Lewis Clairbert I thought had
a disappointing game, so there was a lot of eyes
on him and what he could potentially do in the
individual medleys just didn't click for her and he battled
to get going at these Olympics. So it's different for everyone,
isn't it. For the Olympics, there's a lot that don't
necessarily go there to make up the numbers, but they
know that a medal is probably beyond their reach, but
maybe a making a final or a PB is a
(15:56):
success for them. And others go chasing that gold medal,
chasing silver, chasing bronze, and when it doesn't happen, that's
obviously a failure in their eyes. So I think those
are some of the failures that'll be there. And look,
New Zealand's long absence without a medal in the pool
continues nineteen ninety six and Atlanta, that gap is going
to extend out to at least thirty two years.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Cycling, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing. We do seem to do
quite well at those concentrated group of sports, don't we.
How come those are the ones where all the funding goes.
Is it because we're bringing home medals or are we
bringing home medals because that's where all the funding goes?
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I think yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
I think it's a bit of a circle of funding
brings results and brings medals, therefore it gets more funding
the next time around when they go cap in hands
to get the allocation of their funding. You've got to
basically win medals to get money and then once you do,
you sort of on the right track there. I mean,
those are the sports that New Zealand has been traditionally
very successful at and the Olympic context, Cycling has been
(16:53):
very very good in delivering medals for New Zealand, so
to rowing and kayaking. Therefore they get more money to
continue on that trajectory in sports that maybe New Zealand
has had success in previously, like hockey. When the success
runs out, the tap of funding runs out as well.
I don't think throwing money at things necessarily means that
you're going to get results, but I think it certainly helps.
Australia has got very, very good swimmers, but I think
(17:16):
the profile of swimming in Australia is high. Here you
have athletes who want to go in and start swimming,
whereas here in New Zealand. I don't think that necessarily
is the case. I think there's definitely a question around
the funding model in New Zealand. We target those sports
that do deliver a little bit metals. You can make
an argument saying maybe we should put some more money
into the swimmings of the world. Would it return success?
I don't know. Basketball often is brought up. You know,
(17:38):
it's a worldwide sport that we're okay it and in
a context we didn't make the Olympics this time around,
but if you put some more funding in there's a
possibility they could have success there. So there's always the
prienial question around the funding. Do you fund the sports
that were New Zealand is good at or do you
fund the ones that have more of a worldwide profile.
I think that debate is going to continue for as
long as I'm alive. I don't think they'll ever be
(17:59):
a particular answer to that, Chelsea. But I think you
direct the funding where you're likely to have success, and
on the basis of that and the basis of the
return at these Olympic Games, it's hard to argue that
they've got it wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Well, if you look at other sports like athletics or
the triathlon, for instance, our success there seems to be
driven by the talent of an individual rather than the
cohort of people.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Hey, do we need to be.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Looking at funding more sports to build up bigger teams
create more of a talent pool.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Quite possibly. I mean, I think it's different with some
of those individual sports more so than a team. Sometimes
you get that just absolute freak of nature that is
capable of doing things in the pool or on the
track or in the field that are deserving of money.
But just because you throw money at you may not
necessarily find those things. I think there is some success
New Zealand could have with swimming, which has had a
(18:46):
fair bit of money thrown at it, and we've got
Erica Fairweather and Lewis Clebert or the two shining stars
at the moment. But I'm not sure compared to the
Australias of the world and the Americas that tip so
much money into those programs that New Zealand will ever
be able to compete financially. So I think you have
to rely on that freak of nature coming through that
is just worthy of the money, rather than building the
(19:06):
teams up that way.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
And if we only do fund the sports that we
know that we're good at, doesn't that prevent us from
adapting for the future and finding those new sports like
that climbing event.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Absolutely, And it's an interesting one. How do you get
people interested. We're probably watching the Olympics as a start,
and I'm sure there's krewek kids that are out there
wanting to try sport climbing as a result of the
two New Zealanders competing in the sport climbing. And I'm
sure it's the case for a number of sports out
there that you might see more doing the high jump
because of Hamish curve. Kids might want to track up
track cycling, which has druditionally got a different barrier into
(19:37):
it than going down and doing a bit of high
jump at the local athletics field. So you got to
find a way to open those doors for these athletes
and create the opportunities for them. It's very easy. From
a New Zealand school suspective and sports perspective, you know,
a lot of schools run rugby programs, they run athletics programs,
they run to an extent swimming programs as well. That's
more solid and clubs, so the programs are there. From
(19:58):
a high school perspective, primary school to high school, getting
kids into sport climbing is always going to be more
and more difficult, So I think you've got to find
ways to innovate and get players in. And that's the
basketball thing as well. It's on the world stage. New
Zealand's probably never going to win a gold medal and basketball,
but competing on a world stage seeing the New Zealand's
black singlet representing there, it would be very very key
(20:19):
in getting more kiwis into the sport as well. So
I think it's argument and a question that never quite
has a complete answer, and I think you know, there's
only a certain pot of money as well, Chelsea, isn't
there that they can allocate to these sports and you've
got to target the one that perennially New Zealand has success.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
And thanks for joining us, Elliot.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
That said, for this episode of the Front Page. You
can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage
at ZAD Herald dot co dot nz. The Front Page
is produced by Ethan Seals with sound engineer Patty Fox.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I'm Chelsea Daniels.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Subscribe to the Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And tune in tomorrow for another look. Find the headlines
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