The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which mostly consists of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams since 2002, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events, and four years later they became the first global multi-sport event to have more events for women than men.
Leslie Roy Mills is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete and politician. He represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades, competing in the shot put and discus throw. He won a total of five medals at the Commonwealth Games including gold in the discus at the 1966 Games.
Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres (69.7 ft) outdoors and 20.98 metres (68.8 ft) indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.
New Zealand competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The team consisted of four competitors: an athlete, a boxer, and two swimmers. Porritt was also the team's manager, and he won the nation's first medal in athletics.
Adrian Blincoe is a New Zealand middle-distance runner. In July 2008 he set the New Zealand record in the 5000m, running 13:10.19.
Nadine Marie Stanton is a shooting competitor for New Zealand. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games she won a gold team medal in the Double Trap (Pairs) event partnering Teresa Borrell, and a silver team medal in the Double Trap.
William David Baillie was a New Zealand runner, who represented his country at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. There, he placed sixth in the 5000 m. He also competed at the 1954, 1958, 1962, and 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. At the time of his death, he held New Zealand records for the 20000 m and the 1 hour events.
Catherine Anne Grant Sadleir is a sports executive and former synchronized swimmer.
Kirsten Louise Hellier is a former javelin thrower, who represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth and the Olympic Games. She set her personal best in 1994 with the old javelin type. Hellier was the coach of World Champion shot putter Valerie Adams from 1998 until 2010.
Hamish Bryon Bond is a retired New Zealand rower and former road cyclist. He is a three-time Olympic gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He won six consecutive World Rowing Championships gold medals in the coxless pair and set the current world best times in both the coxless and coxed pair. He made a successful transition from rowing to road cycling after the 2016 Summer Olympics focussing on the road time trial. He returned to rowing for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, winning a gold medal in the men's eight.
Philip Charles Skoglund was a New Zealand lawn bowls player, and part of New Zealand's greatest lawn bowls family dynasty.
Gemma McCaw is a New Zealand field hockey player who has represented her country in three Summer Olympics.
Andrew "Andy" Hayward is a New Zealand field hockey player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the national team in the men's tournament. He was a member of the men's team which won the bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Stephen Jenness is a New Zealand field hockey player. At the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed for the national team in the men's tournament.
Lawrence John Woolley, known as John Woolley, is a sport shooter from New Zealand who has represented New Zealand at three Olympic Games and four Commonwealth Games.
Sarah Hirini is a New Zealand women's rugby union player and two-time Olympic medalist. She plays for the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team, and captained the Manawatu Sevens side that took out the 2013 National Women's Sevens title in Queenstown. She was named in the squad for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Julie Claire Brougham was a New Zealand equestrian, competing in dressage. She became New Zealand's oldest Olympic competitor when she competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro at age 62.
Anthony Peden is a New Zealand cyclist. He competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, in the Men's keirin and the men's sprint. Peden was the head sprint coach at Cycling New Zealand from 2013 until his resignation in 2018. Peden is now the Head Sprint Coach of the Chinese National track cycling team.
William Albert Vincent is a New Zealand judoka. He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1986, he won the bronze medal in the 78kg weight category at the judo demonstration sport event as part of the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
