Expect Kiwi women to bring home a majority of New Zealand's medals from the Tokyo Olympics over the coming weeks. That's the advice from Olympic icon Eric Murray.
With New Zealand's Olympic campaign having officially begun on Wednesday night, with the Football Ferns in action against Australia, the Kiwi charge towards medals in Tokyo has begun.
New Zealand has sent a record team of 211 athletes to Tokyo, with American outlet Associated Press even predicting a near-record haul of medals.
And with the likes of Lisa Carrington, multiple rowing crews and the Black Ferns sevens entering the Olympics as overwhelming medal favourites, double gold medal winner Murray says that it isn't unreasonable to expect New Zealand's female contingent to lead the Kiwi charge.
"I think we're just going to have to wait and see how the medal table goes," Murray says.
"I do think that our women's teams, our female athletes are looking to be dominant.
"[At] the last Olympics, I think it was like a 60-40 split female to male medal ratio. [This time] it might even be higher.
"We have some fantastic trailblazers in sport, such are the likes of Valerie [Adams], Lisa [Carrington], we've got our women's rowing crews, our sevens team is looking good.
"[If] we start adding them up, I think it's an amazing thing for women's sport in New Zealand, and globally.
Murray's two Olympic golds - won in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 - came in tandem as part of the men's pair with longtime teammate Hamish Bond.
While Murray has called time on his Olympic career, Bond is now about to compete at his fourth games, part of the men's eight.
The men's eight were one of the last New Zealand crews to qualify for Tokyo, doing so in May this year, hoping to emulate the gold medal winning crew of Munich 1972.
And as far as Murray's concerned, Bond's presence in the eight will provide a lift for every Kiwi athlete on the ground in Tokyo.
"If I know Hamish as well as I do, there will be no stone unturned - not only for the men's eight and the rowing team, but every other team that's competing at the Olympics," he adds.
"As we've seen in many stories, we've had people that haven't been allowed to go to the Olympics, because the NZOC hasn't thought they've been up to a standard where they're going to compete with distinction.
"I think everyone who is at the Olympics now has a potential of winning medals.
"I'm as excited as everyone else to sit in front of the TV and really just stand up, shout, shed a tear - what needs to be done to support our Olympic team on."
Join Newshub for live updates of the Tokyo Olympics from 8pm Thursday.
