Timaru is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located 157 km (98 mi) southwest of Christchurch and about 196 km (122 mi) northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to 28,900 people, and is the largest urban area in South Canterbury, and the third-largest in the Canterbury Region overall, after Christchurch and Rolleston. The town is the seat of the Timaru District, which includes the surrounding rural area and the towns of Geraldine, Pleasant Point and Temuka, which combined have a total population of 48,900.
Norman Murray Parker is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in three Test matches and one One Day International during 1976.
The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park located in Timaru.
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.
Luuka Jones is a New Zealand slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.
Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main North/South road. Waimate is 45.7 km south of Timaru, Canterbury's second city, 20 km north of the Waitaki River, which forms the border between Canterbury and the Otago province to the south and 47.5 km north of Oamaru, the main town of the Waitaki District.
Dame Lisa Marie Carrington is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of six gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K‑1 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as gold in the same event at the 2011 Canoe Sprint World Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she also won a gold medal in the K‑2 500 metres, with crewmate Caitlin Regal, and as an individual in the K‑1 500 metres. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Carrington won her first gold medal in the K‑4 500 metres 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.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the seventh best shot putter in history.
Catherine Ann Skinner is an Australian sport shooter. In 2016, she became an Olympic gold medalist.
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.
Frances "Francie" Turner is a New Zealand coxswain. She competed at the Rio Olympics with the New Zealand women's eight.
Eliza McCartney is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at 4.94 m, and is the outdoor world junior record holder at 4.64 m. She also won the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in 2015. In 2018, she placed second at the 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.
Sam Dickson is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a forward for the New Zealand national sevens team.
Terina Lily Te Tamaki is a New Zealand rugby union player.
The South Canterbury cricket team represents the South Canterbury region of New Zealand. It competes in the Hawke Cup. Its headquarters are at Aorangi Oval in Timaru, where South Canterbury play most of their home matches.
The New Zealand Shooting Federation (NZSF) is the governing body for Target Shooting Sports in New Zealand. It holds responsibility for selecting and developing national teams for World Championships, as well as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
Jorja Miller is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby union, and is a member of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team. Miller was a member of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team that won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
