The Tokyo Olympics, which has been the subject of much debate over whether to hold the event, has somehow managed to open despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the declaration of a state of emergency. The opening ceremony took place on July 23rd, and the New Zealand team was also on hand to see.
Prior to the opening ceremony, New Zealand kicked off the tournament with a women's soccer match against Australia on the 21st. Unfortunately, they started off with a 1-2 loss, but on the 22nd, the men's soccer match began with a 1-0 victory over South Korea.
First, let's look back at New Zealand's Olympic history. New Zealand's first Olympic participation was at the London Games in 1908. Japan's participation in the Olympics began one Games earlier, at the Stockholm Games in 1912, but New Zealand participated together with Australia as the "Australasia Team" in the London Games and the following Stockholm Games. Australasia is a coined word combining Australia and New Zealand, and can refer to an area that includes not only these two countries, but also nearby countries.
After the 1916 Berlin Games was cancelled due to World War I, New Zealand began competing alone from the 1920 Antwerp Games in Belgium.
New Zealand has won a total of 117 medals so far. That being said, it's hard to say whether that's a lot or a little. Let's compare that with the number of medals won by Japan at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where New Zealand won the most medals. The Rio de Janeiro Games was also the tournament where Japan won the most medals, with a total of 41. Japan's population at the time was 120 million. In comparison, New Zealand's population was 4.7 million, with 18 medals. If you compare by population, New Zealand is doing pretty well!
Rowing: New Zealand's flagship sport
Well, after soccer, the next sport in which New Zealand athletes appeared at the Tokyo Olympics was rowing. In fact, rowing is the sport that New Zealand has won the most gold medals in the Olympics so far. It is truly the star sport of the Olympics. The rowing event is being held at Sea Forest Waterway from July 23rd to 30th.
Something unexpected happened this time. Typhoon No. 8 formed on July 24th, and there is a possibility that it will approach Tokyo. As a result, the competition scheduled for the 26th was suddenly brought forward. Due to this schedule change, the women's pair, who are gold medal contenders, had to compete in two races, a pair and an eight (a boat race with eight people), within an incredibly tough time frame of just three hours. However, they placed first in the preliminaries in both races, and the gold medal is definitely within their sights!
The pair finished first in the women's rowing pair event.
Rowing is broadly divided into two categories: "sculling," which uses two oars, and "sweeping," which uses only one oar. There are events in which multiple rowers compete, including pairs, four people, and eight people, as well as individuals. The distance is always 2000m. The individual races where one person continues to row long distances, and the sight of multiple rowers continuing to row in perfect harmony are spectacular. Even if you don't usually watch much rowing, be sure to come and support New Zealand!
Future highlights
Besides rowing, the sports in which New Zealand has won the most medals to date include athletics, sailing, canoeing, and equestrian events! Athletics has won fewer gold medals than rowing, but the total number of gold, silver and bronze medals is on par with rowing.
As evidenced by New Zealand's victory in the America's Cup, a global yacht race held this year, New Zealand is a yacht kingdom and a leading sailing nation. It is said that New Zealand has the highest boat ownership rate per capita in the world.
Canoeing is also a popular activity among the general public. Water sports such as rowing, sailing and canoeing are sports that symbolize New Zealand, a country that enjoys the outdoors.
The women's hockey team, known as the "Black Sticks," won their first match against Argentina, ranked 2nd in the world, 3-0! High expectations are high for the team's future.
See the New Zealand team's Instagram here.
