We’re down to the final four!
Newshub’s quest to find New Zealand’s Greatest Olympian is down to the semi finals, and there’s no place for our most successful Olympian, double Olympic champions or a triple Olympic medalist. The people have spoken, and now we want to hear from you again.
Take a look at the last four athletes standing then vote in our poll at the bottom of the page.
The overall champion will be revealed just before the flame is lit in Rio.
Check out the semi final match-ups below and be sure to place your vote at the bottom of the page.
Peter Snell vs Danyon Loader
Snell knocked over New Zealand’s very first Olympic gold medallist Malcolm Champion in the first round, then swept past fellow track man Murray Halberg to take his place in the final four.
Snell arrived at the Rome Olympics in 1960 an unknown 21 year old ranked 26th in the 1500m, but that didn’t last long, stunning the athletics world to win gold in Olympic record time. Four years later Snell went even better, becoming just the second man in Olympic history to complete the 800m-1500m double in Tokyo, again breaking the 800m Olympic record.
Loader took down a couple of Olympic legends to make the semi finals - Montreal 1500m gold medallist John Walker in round 1 then triple boardsailing medallist Barbara Kendall in the second round.
New Zealand has won only six Olympic medals in the pool and half of those belong to Loader. After taking silver in the 200m Butterfly as a 17 year old in Barcelona, Loader won New Zealand's first swimming gold in the 200m Freestyle in Atlanta in 1996, then added another in the 400m Freestyle. The medal haul places Loader third on the list of New Zealand's most successful Olympians.
Mark Todd v Valerie Adams
Todd smashed Russell Coutts in the opening vote, and beat the double rowing gold medallists the Evers-Swindell twins in round two.
No New Zealand athlete has competed at more Olympics than Todd, and along with Ferguson and MacDonald none have won more medals. Todd and his mount Chrisma became household names after Individual Eventing gold in Los Angeles in 1984. They defended the title in Seoul four years later and added bronze in the Team event. Todd has collected two more bronze medals, the last in London an incredible 28 years after the first, and he’s still going strong.
Adams took down two of New Zealand’s best Olympic teams - first the 1976 Men’s hockey team, and the the 1972 Men’s rowing eight.
She may be the only current Olympian on our list but Adams has earned her spot. By her second Olympics in 2008 Adams was the dominant force in Women’s Shot Put, and claimed gold in Beijing by nearly 30cm. She would eventually get the gold four years later, but only after Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of the title for doping. Adams joins the Evers-Swindell twins as New Zealand's only two time gold medalists.
(All images courtesy of Getty)
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