Press Releases
New Zealand's Sporting Elite Honoured
19 Oct 2004
Sarah Ulmer, Hamish Carter, Peter Martin and members of the Black Sox and Silver Ferns teams were among 65 athletes and teams honoured tonight at the New Zealand Academy of Sport Gala Dinner in Auckland .
In all, 36 World Placegetters, 33 World Champions, 10 Paralympic Medals and 5 Olympic medals were acknowledged at the event which celebrates athletes that have represented New Zealand with distinction over the past two years. The event was held in association with the New Zealand Olympic Committee and Paralympics New Zealand .
Katie Sadleir, SPARC General Manager Performance, says that the event is a rare opportunity to acknowledge the breadth and depth of New Zealand's sporting talent.
"For a country of four million people to have so many sportspeople at the top of the world is exhilarating. It is also wonderful for the athletes to be amongst their peers and for the sporting community to come together to honour them."
Speaking at the event, John Wells, Chairman of SPARC, acknowledged that the event was also about recognising the people that helped the athletes achieve their dreams.
" We also thank the coaches, the providers of sports science and medicine, administrators, as well as family and friends and the many volunteers. We acknowledge not only the athletes, but also the wider sporting family," he said.
Each athlete was presented with a certificate of achievement. Speakers included the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Trevor Mallard; New Zealand Olympic Committee President, Eion Edgar; Paralympic New Zealand Chairman, Simon Peterson; and SPARC Chairman, John Wells, on behalf of the New Zealand Academy of Sport.
The New Zealand Academy of Sport is SPARC's high performance network.
Updated | 30 Mar 2006.
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