Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
Bradley Shaw is a field hockey player from New Zealand, who earned his first cap for the national team, nicknamed The Black Sticks, in 2004 at the Champions Trophy against the Netherlands. He competed for New Zealand at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where New Zealand narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, losing a shoot out to England. He scored the winning goal against Argentina in the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament.
New Zealand at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia was represented by 249 athletes competing in over 19 disciplines, with 119 officials. This was the largest team that New Zealand had ever sent to a Commonwealth Games.
Timothy Clarence Johnson is a New Zealand disability sports administrator and former wheelchair rugby player. He is a past captain of the Wheel Blacks, the New Zealand wheelchair rugby team.
Donna Wilkins is a New Zealand representative in netball and basketball. She married Southland farmer Mike Wilkins on 17 March 2007. Wilkins returned to the Southern Steel for the 2012 season, after a short stint with the Canterbury Tactix in 2011.
Kris Gemmell is a New Zealand triathlete, and 2002 World Aquathon Champion in Cancún, Mexico. He has also competed in the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games finishing 6th and 5th respectively.
Kashi Ananda Leuchs from Dunedin, New Zealand is a former world class cross country mountain biker who represented New Zealand in mountain biking at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the 2004 games in Athens and the 2008 Games in Beijing. He also competed in the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, both in mountain biking and road racing finishing fourth in the 2002 Mountain Bike Cross Country.
Claire Baxter was a professional racing cyclist, competing in both road and mountain bike racing events. She retired in late 2006 after competing in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
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.
Linda Melanie Villumsen Serup is a Danish-born road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Women's Team Team Virtu Cycling. Villumsen became a New Zealand citizen in 2009 and has ridden under a Kiwi licence from 2010.
Alison Shanks is a retired New Zealand professional racing cyclist, specialising in individual pursuit in track cycling and individual time trial in road bicycle racing. Prior to that she was an Otago Rebels netballer, the sport she played for more than five years before her cycling career.
Nathan Phillip Cohen is a New Zealand rower. He is a two-time world champion, and won a gold medal in the Olympics. In 2006, rowing a single scull, he won a gold medal at the World University Games. In doing so, he became the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the World University Games in any sport. Cohen and his rowing partner, Joseph Sullivan, won back-to-back gold medals in the men's double sculls at both the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he and his partner won the gold medal in the men's double sculls, after breaking the Olympic best time in the heats. In 2013, Cohen was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rowing.
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the activity of using / riding bicycles, human-powered, wheeled vehicles, for purposes including transport, recreation, social interaction, exercise, sport, therapy, other purposes, or any combination thereof.
Karen Hanlen is a New Zealand mountain biker. She represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, competing in the women's cross-country cycling 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.
Anton Cooper is a New Zealand cross-country cyclist who races for the Trek Factory Racing XC Team. He is the 2015 World Under 23 Cross-country Mountain bike champion and the 2012 World Junior Cross-country Mountain bike champion. One of the two contenders for the country's 2016 Summer Olympics quota spot, he developed chronic fatigue earlier in 2016 and the nomination went to Sam Gaze instead. Cooper represented New Zealand at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing sixth in the Men's Cross-country Mountain Bike final.
Debbie Tanner is a triathlete from New Zealand, who placed fourth at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Samuel William Gaze is a New Zealand cross-country and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck. He won the under-23 Cross-Country at the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. He also competes on occasion in road racing events, winning the National Criterium Championships in 2017 and 2018.
Stella Ashcroft is an artistic gymnast from New Zealand, specialising in the vault, beam and floor events. In 2018, she competed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Ellesse Andrews is a New Zealand racing cyclist. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's keirin, winning a silver medal.
