Georgia Groen is a New Zealand barefoot water-skier. In 2016, she won the overall open women's title at the Barefoot Waterski World Championships held in Wisconsin, United States. [1]
Groen grew up in the North Island town of Ōtaki, where she attended Kāpiti College. [2] In 2013, she moved to Christchurch to study at the University of Canterbury. [1]
Groen competed in her first event at the age of 8, [3] and her first world championship event at the age of 12, in 2009. In 2013, she attended the Barefoot Waterski World Championships in Mulwala, Australia, and won silver in the overall open women's section. [4]
In the 2016 championship, Groen won the overall open women's title, and also her third consecutive open world trick title, silver in open slalom, silver in open jump and a bronze in the open team overall event. [5]
In 2011, Groen won the Kāpiti Emerging Sportsperson of the Year Award, [6] and the Sportsperson of the Year in 2012. [7]
Belinda Louise Colling is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1996 and 2006, she made 92 senior appearances for New Zealand. She captained New Zealand at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World Netball Championships and was a member of the New Zealand teams that won gold medals at the 2003 World Netball Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Colling is also a double international and played for the New Zealand women's national basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. During the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, Colling played netball for Otago Rebels, Canterbury Flames and Southern Sting. She also played for Team Northumbria in the Netball Superleague. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.
Ellen Halpenny is a former New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medalists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. During the ANZ Championship era, Halpenny played for Canterbury Tactix and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. She subsequently played for Scottish Sirens during the 2017 Netball Superleague season. During the ANZ Premiership era, she played for Northern Stars and Southern Steel.
Andrea Hansen is a New Zealand triathlete who placed third at the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships and competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four Summer Paralympic Games from 2008, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Joelle King is a New Zealand professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 4 in April 2014.
Emma Kimberley Twigg is a New Zealand rower. A single sculler, she was the 2014 world champion and won gold in her fourth Olympics in Tokyo in July 2021. Previous Olympic appearances were in 2008, 2012, and 2016. She has retired from rowing twice, first for master-level studies in Europe in 2015 and then after the 2016 Olympics, disappointed at having narrowly missed an Olympic medal for the second time. After two years off the water, she started training again in 2018 and won silver at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Since her marriage in 2020, she has become an outspoken advocate for LGBT athletes. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Twigg won gold in the woman's single scull. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Twigg won Silver in the same event.
Natasha Hansen is a New Zealand track cyclist who has represented her country at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Hansen competed at the 2018 Gold Coast games and won two silver medals in the sprint & team sprint, and a bronze in the keirin.
Nikita Stevie Howarth is a New Zealand para-cyclist and para-swimmer. She became New Zealand's youngest ever Paralympian after being selected for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, aged 13 years 8 months. She again represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, where she won the gold medal in the women's 200 metre individual medley SM7 and the bronze medal in the women's 50 metre butterfly S7.
Grace Elizabeth Prendergast is a former New Zealand sweep rower. She is a 15-time national champion in the premier category, an Olympic champion, a five-time world champion and the current (2022) world champion in the coxless pair. She grew up in Christchurch, where she started rowing for the Avon Rowing Club in 2007. She competed at the Tokyo Olympics in two boat classes and won gold in the coxless pair and a silver in the eight and set a new world's best time in the pair. Various parties, including the World Rowing Federation, expected her to win medals in Tokyo. She was the highest ranked female rower in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2021. Since 2014, her rowing partner in the coxless pair has been Kerri Gowler. Prendergast is also a Boat Race winner, having competed as part of Cambridge University Boat Club's (CUBC) women's crew in 2022. She retired from professional rowing in October 2022.
New Zealand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-third appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics, having made its debut at the 1920 Games and competed at every Games since. The New Zealand team consisted of 199 athletes, 100 women and 99 men, across twenty sports, the first time New Zealand was represented by more women than men at the Summer Olympics.
Georgia Williams is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Liv AlUla Jayco.
Sophie MacKenzie is a New Zealand Olympic rower and, together with Julia Edward, double world champion in lightweight double sculls.
Olivia Rose Podmore was a New Zealand professional racing cyclist. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Helena Gasson is a New Zealand Olympic swimmer representing her country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She has also competed internationally at the 2015 World University Games, the 2017 World Swimming Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Helena is currently part of the Coast Swim Club Elite Team and the LA Current in the ISL.
Niall Williams-Guthrie is a New Zealand rugby league player. She has represented New Zealand in rugby sevens and touch rugby at an international level. She has won silver medals as part of New Zealand's touch football team in 2011, and in the 2016 Rio Olympics as a member of New Zealand's sevens team. She also won gold medals in sevens in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Tayla Bruce is a New Zealand international lawn bowls player.
Kate Alexandra Heffernan is a New Zealand netball international and former cricketer. She represented the New Zealand national netball team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Netball World Cup. She captained New Zealand at the 2024 Netball Nations Cup. In 2018, she also made two appearances for the New Zealand women's national cricket team.
Zoe Hobbs is a New Zealand track and field sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. She is the Oceanian indoor record holder for the 60 m and the Oceanian record holder for the 100 m.
Alena Saili is a New Zealand rugby sevens player.is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side rugby union, and is a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team.
Annette Heffernan is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1985 and 1990, she made nine senior appearances for New Zealand. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won gold medals at the 1987 World Netball Championships and the 1985 and 1989 World Games. Her sister, Maxine Blomquist, their cousin, Shirley Langrope, and her twin daughters, Kate Heffernan and Georgia Heffernan, have all played international netball for New Zealand. Annette and Maxine were the first set of sisters to play international netball for New Zealand. Kate and Georgia were the third set.