New Zealand at the 2018 Winter Olympics

New Zealand competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. The team consisted of 21 athletes, 17 men and 4 women, across five sports.

New Zealand at the 2018 Winter Olympics
IOC code	NZL
NOC	New Zealand Olympic Committee
Website	www.olympics.org.nz
in Pyeongchang, South Korea 9–25 February 2018
Competitors	21 in 5 sports
Flag bearer (opening)	Beau-James Wells[1]
Flag bearer (closing)	Zoi Sadowski-Synnott[2]
Medals Ranked 26th	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 2 Total 2
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

The team collected two bronze medals, which made these games the most successful Winter Games for New Zealand; the nation had previously collected only one Winter Olympic medal, a silver at the 1992 Games. The two medals also exceeded High Performance Sport New Zealand's target of one medal for the Games.^[3]

The two bronze medals were won by Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in the women's snowboarding big air and by Nico Porteous in the men's ski halfpipe. Porteous at 16 years 91 days and Sadowski-Synnott at 16 years 353 days became the nation's two youngest Olympic medallists, breaking the previous record of 17 years 100 days set by Danyon Loader at the 1992 Summer Olympics.^[4]

Medallists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Bronze	Zoi Sadowski-Synnott	Snowboarding	Women's big air	22 February
Bronze	Nico Porteous	Freestyle skiing	Men's halfpipe	22 February

Competitors

The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) confirmed a team of 21 athletes, 17 men and 4 women, to compete in five sports. It is the largest delegation New Zealand has sent to the Winter Olympics, surpassing the 18 athletes who were sent to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The nation participated in the same sports as at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Sixteen-year-old alpine skier Alice Robinson was New Zealand's youngest competitor;^[5] along with fellow 16-year-olds Nico Porteous and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, the three were the first New Zealand Olympians at either Games to be born in the 21st century. 38-year-old speed skater Shane Dobbin was the oldest competitor.

Sport	Men	Women	Total
Alpine skiing	2	1	3
Freestyle skiing	7	2	9
Skeleton	1	0	1
Snowboarding	4	1	5
Speed skating	3	0	3
Total	17	4	21

Alpine skiing

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics

New Zealand qualified two alpine skiers, one male and one female, through the basic quota. They also received one additional quota.

Athlete	Event	Run 1		Run 2		Total
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Adam Barwood	Men's giant slalom	1:13.41	40	1:13.81	35	2:27.22	34
	Men's slalom	DNF
	Men's super-G	—				1:31.10	43
Willis Feasey	Men's giant slalom	1:14.48	42	1:13.80	34	2:28.28	36
	Men's slalom	DNF
	Men's super-G	—				1:28.59	37
Alice Robinson	Women's giant slalom	1:16.66	37	1:14.53	38	2:31.19	35
	Women's slalom	DNF

Freestyle skiing

Main article: Freestyle skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics

The NZOC announced the first five freestyle skiers on 24 October 2017,^[6] adding another two on 8 November 2017,^[7] and a further two on 12 January 2018.^[8] Jossi Wells withdrew from participating on 9 January 2018 due to injury.^[9]

Halfpipe

Athlete	Event	Qualification				Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Best	Rank	Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Best	Rank
Miguel Porteous	Men's halfpipe	40.40	62.60	62.60	17	did not advance
Nico Porteous		51.20	72.80	72.80	11 Q	82.40	94.80	30.00	94.80
Beau-James Wells		86.20	88.20	88.20	5 Q	87.40	52.20	91.60	91.60	4
Byron Wells		88.60	42.00	88.60	4 Q	DNS
Britt Hawes	Women's halfpipe	52.20	57.40	57.40	21	did not advance
Janina Kuzma		67.80	48.60	67.80	16	did not advance

Ski cross

Athlete	Event	Seeding		Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final
		Time	Rank	Position	Position	Position	Position	Rank
Jamie Prebble	Men's ski cross	1:10.48	25	3	did not advance

Qualification legend: FA – Qualify to medal round; FB – Qualify to consolation round

Slopestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification				Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Best	Rank	Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Best	Rank
Finn Bilous	Men's slopestyle	24.80	85.00	85.00	13	did not advance
Jackson Wells		52.80	42.00	52.80	25	did not advance

Skeleton

Main article: Skeleton at the 2018 Winter Olympics

New Zealand qualified one male skeleton athlete.^[10] The NZOC announced the selection of the racer on 19 January 2018.^[11]

Athlete	Event	Run 1		Run 2		Run 3		Run 4		Total
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Rhys Thornbury	Men's	50.90	8	51.03	10	50.65	6	52.14	20	3:24.72	14

Snowboarding

Main article: Snowboarding at the 2018 Winter Olympics

The NZOC announced the first four snowboarders on 24 October 2017.^[6]

Freestyle

Athlete	Event	Qualification				Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Best	Rank	Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Best	Rank
Carlos Garcia Knight	Men's big air	88.75	97.50	97.50	1 Q	JNS	JNS	54.25	54.25	11
	Men's slopestyle	80.10	40.20	80.10	2 Q	78.60	52.98	24.35	78.60	5
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott	Women's big air	72.75	92.00	92.00	5 Q	65.50	92.00	JNS	157.50
	Women's slopestyle	Cancelled[12]				26.70	48.38	CAN	48.38	13
Rakai Tait	Men's halfpipe	36.50	25.75	36.50	26	Did not advance

Tiarn Collins also qualified for the men's slopestyle and big air competitions, but was forced to withdraw after dislocated his shoulder in training prior to the start of the games.^[13][14]

Snowboard cross

Athlete	Event	Seeding						1/8 final	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final
		Run 1		Run 2		Best	Seed
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank			Position	Position	Position	Position	Rank
Duncan Campbell	Men's	1:16.68	32	DNF		1:16.68	37	5	did not advance

Speed skating

Main article: Speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Individual

Athlete	Event	Race
		Time	Rank
Reyon Kay	Men's 1500 m	1:47.81	26
Peter Michael	Men's 1500 m	1:46.39	14
	Men's 5000 m	6:14.07	4

Mass start

Athlete	Event	Semifinal			Final
		Points	Time	Rank	Points	Time	Rank
Reyon Kay	Men's	0	9:17.99	12	Did not advance
Peter Michael		60	7:55.10	1 Q	0	7:49.33	15

Team pursuit

Athlete	Event	Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Opposition Time	Rank	Opposition Time	Rank	Opposition Time	Rank
Shane Dobbin Reyon Kay Peter Michael	Men's	Norway (NOR) L 3:41.18	4 Q	South Korea (KOR) L 3:39.53	2 FB	Netherlands (NED) L 3:43.54	4

See also

• New Zealand at the 2017 Asian Winter Games
• New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

References

1. "Opening Ceremony Flagbearers - Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang 2018" (PDF). olympic.org. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. "NZ Team Recognises Medallists Ahead of Closing Ceremony". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 25 February 2018.
3. "Strategic Plan 2017-2020" (PDF). High Performance Sport New Zealand. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
4. Norquay, Kevin (22 February 2018). "2018 Winter Olympics: Meet the high-flying 16-year-olds who made New Zealand proud". Stuff. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
5. "Alice Robinson to be New Zealand's youngest ever Winter Olympian at age 16". Stuff.
6. "Nico Porteous joins brother in team for Winter Olympics, history beckon". Stuff.co.nz. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
7. "Wells brothers added to Winter Olympics team". Radio New Zealand. 8 November 2017.
8. "Two more Wells brothers added to NZ Winter Olympics team". Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via TVNZ.
9. "Jossi Wells withdraws from Winter Olympics team". 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
10. "Quota Allocation PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games 2018 - Men's Skeleton - IBSF 14 January 2018" (PDF). www.ibsf.org. International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). 15 January 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
11. "Skeleton racer Rhys Thornbury named in New Zealand Winter Olympics team". www.stuff.co.nz/. Fairfax New Zealand Limited. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
12. "Women's slopestyle qualification canceled". Reuters. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
13. "2018 Winter Olympics: Kiwi snowboarder Tiarn Collins dislocates shoulder on eve". Stuff. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
14. "Winter Olympics: Kiwi snowboarder Tiarn Collins ruled out of Winter Olympics". 12 February 2018 – via www.nzherald.co.nz.