Sport in New Zealand
The sport maintains a high profile in New Zealand, due in large part to its national team, the Silver Ferns, which with Australia, has remained at the forefront of world netball for several decades.
The team also reached the 2013 Rugby League World Cup (hosted by England and Wales) final on Saturday 30 October 2013.
[9] Several Wellington Phoenix players have gone on to have major success overseas, such as Sarpreet Singh, Roy Krishna, Marco Rojas and Liberato Cacace.
Their next appearance in 2010 saw another first-round exit, but with considerably more success on the field; the All Whites earned three draws, including a 1–1 result against defending champion Italy, ending up as the only team that was not beaten in this edition.
Auckland City FC won the semi-professional OFC Champions League competition in a record twelve times; 2006, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and earned the bronze medal at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup held in Morocco.
In 2017, football was played by 25,037 secondary school students, making it the fourth-most popular sport behind netball, rugby union and basketball.
New Zealand men have won Olympic gold in the 1500 metres three times: Jack Lovelock in 1936, Peter Snell in 1964 and John Walker in 1976.
Four players from New Zealand have gone on to play in the NBA: Steven Adams, Aron Baynes, Sean Marks, and Kirk Penney.
On the international stage, the Tall Blacks (New Zealand's national team) came in 4th place at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.
In 1996 brothers Glenn and Reid Hamilton represented New Zealand in the first ever beach volleyball event at the Summer Olympics at Atlanta, USA.
Tauranga brothers Sam and Ben O'Dea claimed the bronze medal while Shaunna Polley and Kelsie Will gained 5th place.
Professional boxing in New Zealand has produced Joseph Parker, Geovana Peres, Daniella Smith, Maselino Masoe, Bob Fitzsimmons, Torpedo Billy Murphy, Cherneka Johnson, and Floyd Masson all World Champions.
Herbert Slade, David Tua, Kali Meehan, Lani Daniels, Michelle Preston and Tom Heeney were all contenders for a World Championship.
[14] In road racing, George Bennett became the first New Zealander to take an overall win in a UCI WorldTour event when he won the 2017 Tour of California.
Lydia Ko, born in Seoul but raised from infancy in New Zealand, was #1 in the women's World Amateur Golf Ranking, and won two events on the US-based LPGA Tour before turning professional in 2013.
New Zealand have had multiple world champions including Ray Sefo, Mark Hunt, Israel Adesanya, Michelle Preston.
Six other New Zealanders have raced at Grand Prix level: Bruce McLaren (four wins), Chris Amon, Howden Ganley, Mike Thackwell, Brendon Hartley and Liam Lawson.
In addition to their Formula One careers, Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car race.
[22] Orienteering is a popular sport in New Zealand, that combines cross-country running with land navigation skills across a range of settings.
[25] In 2006, Nathan Cohen became the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at the World University Games in any sport, rowing a single scull.
New Zealand holds the current[update] America's Cup sailing title, having won it three times in the challenge's history.
In addition to the commercial ski resorts, New Zealand has many non-profit club fields across both the North and South Islands, particularly in the region of the Southern Alps close to Christchurch such as Craigieburn Valley, Broken River and Temple Basin.
Surfing in New Zealand has a history dating back as far as 1963, when the first national championships were held at Mount Maunganui and won by Peter Way.
In 1976, New Zealand hosted the Amco/Radio Hauraki Pro at North Piha which became the first event of the very first year of the World Professional Surfing Tour.
New Zealand's top surfer Maz Quinn at a young age won the Billabong Pro-Junior Series in Australia in 1996, then competed in the World Pro Junior final in France coming second overall to Taj Burrow.
Sir Maui Pomare, the first Māori to qualify as a doctor, won the USA Inter-Varsity Tennis Championships in 1899 while he was studying there.
But perhaps the doyenne of Māori tennis was Ruia Morrison, who played in international competitions, and at Wimbledon, in the early days of the professional era.
Hamish Carter of New Zealand won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and was rated world number one for several years.
Other successful triathletes from New Zealand include Bevan Docherty, who won the ITU world championship, and a silver in Athens (both in 2004).
[34][better source needed] New Zealanders first competed at the Summer Olympic Games in 1908, with Australia as a combined Australasia team.
