Sports History NZ

For today's sporting history we're going back to the 1981, where a New Zealander took the running world by storm. 24-year-old Allison Roe, a long-distance runner from the Auckland's north shore, won both the prestigious Boston & New York marathons in the same year. She broke both course records and smashed the world record in New York. Only to have it controversially stripped weeks later. Allison became a global star overnight an...

This week for sporting history I'm joined by Katherine Oberlin-Brown At just 19 she was the women's two-time Motorcross World champion... The first time anyone had held the title back-to-back. Katherine had a glittering career in front of her. She might still be riding today... If it weren't for one fateful moment. A training crash that left her with just a 50% chance of ever walking again.

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For today's sporting history we're going back to 1974. A fleeting moment - less than 11 seconds - when track & field bumped into gymnastics. A splash of magic happened and a boy from Papakura came inches away from revolutionising the long jump. That boy was Tuariki Delamere. And that magic... The Delamere flip. A short lived - and quickly banned - long jump technique. It involved doing a summersault mid jump.

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The sport of horse racing has been Noel Harris' whole life. His father Jock was a Manawatū jockey and horse trainer, who won more than 350 races. Following in his father's footsteps, Noel rode his first winner at Foxton on 16 May 1970 and by the time he retired from racing in 2015, had ridden over two-thousand winners in New Zealand. He also won the jockeys' premiership in both New Zealand and Singapore. In 2018, Harris was i...

In this segment we often go way back in time, but today we are focusing on somebody whose time is right here - right now. Finn Butcher won the gold medal in the inaugural Olympic kayak cross event at the Paris Olympic Games last year. That moment in time - on the water last year - catapulted 'The Butcher' from small town Alexandra into the nation's consciousness. Then, last month, after a public vote, he was awarded the Favourit...

Today we're focusing on the career of rugby union legend Billy Stead. Billy Stead has been called "one of the most influential players in the early years of All Blacks rugby". He was the first All Blacks test captain when they played Britain's touring team in 1904, and vice captain to the 1905-to-06 original All Blacks squad. Lynn McConnell is an historian, sports journalist, and prolific author and he's just published 'Billy...

She was once the captain of the Aotearoa Māori Sevens team and was with them through five victories at the Hong Kong Women's Sevens tournament. In 2003 she was part of the Kiwi Ferns squad that took out the Rugby League World Cup. She's continued to play a crucial role in the game - both here and abroad - since transitioning into coaching in 2012. Mere Baker discussed her remarkable career with Emile Donovan.

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In a career that spanned 18 years, Daniel Vettori established himself as one of the finest left-arm spinners in cricket history. Making his debut at just 18, Vettori went on to become New Zealand's most capped ODI player, the third-highest wicket-taker, and, alongside Ross Taylor, New Zealand's most capped Test cricketer. With over 4,500 Test runs, including six centuries, he also took over the captaincy during a dark period in...

At just 27 years old, Zoe has already etched her name in the history books as the first New Zealand sprinter since the 1976 Montreal Olympics to qualify for the Games - and the first to reach the semifinals in a century. Zoe made history again when she became the first Oceanian woman to break the 11-second barrier in the 100m ... clocking an impressive personal best of 10.96 seconds. With 11 national titles to her name... she's...

Sir Wayne's career in Rugby Union includes joining the New Zealand Cavaliers on their controversial tour of apartheid South Africa and winning the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup. He then captained the All Blacks for a three year, 14 game unbeaten streak Buck is also credited with revitalising the Ka Mate haka the All Blacks perform before matched and teaching the team the correct tikanga. Oh, and there's also the infamous "Battl...

Today we're digging into the history of an iconic Kiwi event, the New Zealand Grand Prix. It was first held in 1950 at the Ohakea Circuit in Palmerston North, and these days it's the signature event of the Formula Regional Oceania Championship. Many iconic drivers have taken part in the NZ Grand Prix over the years, from international stars like Sir Jackie Stewart to local legends like Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and Nick Cassidy...

"New Zealand's sailing professor" Mark Orams has had a long career in sailing. He won 12 New Zealand titles over a range of different yachting classes. He was named New Zealand Yachtsman of the Year as a member of Steinlager 2 which won the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. He was a member of Team New Zealand's America's Cup defences in 2000 and 2003 and went on to work as a national youth selection and Olympic sailing ...

Five-time Commonwealth Games medalist Nigel Avery is one of the most versatile athletes New Zealand has produced. He started his sporting career in athletics, excelling in shot-put and triple jump. He then tried his hand at bobsleigh and competed with the national squad for 5 years before discovering weightlifting which took him to the Olympic and Commonwealth games These days Nigel leads the New Zealand Olympic team as the Chef...