Sports History NZ

Adventure racer and multisport triathlete Steve Gurney joins us for this week's NZ Sporting History. Steve is most well-known for winning the 243km Coast to Coast race a record 9 times and representing New Zealand at two Mountain bike world championships.

Sir Wayne's career in Rugby Union includes joining the New Zealand Cavaliers on their controversial tour of apartheid South Africa and winning the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup. He then captained the All Blacks for a three year, 14 game unbeaten streak Buck is also credited with revitalising the Ka Mate haka the All Blacks perform before matched and teaching the team the correct tikanga. Oh, and there's also the infamous "Battle of Nantes" which resulted in Sir Wayne 'Buck' Shelford being knocked out, losing several teeth and a testicle!

On the 23rd of June 2021 at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, England, the Black Caps beat India to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. Dylan Cleaver is a seasoned sports journalist who worked with the NZ Herald for 17 years before going out on his own with 'The Bounce' - a Substack newsletter. He talks to Jesse about the iconic Block Caps win.

Today we're digging into the history of an iconic Kiwi event, the New Zealand Grand Prix. It was first held in 1950 at the Ohakea Circuit in Palmerston North, and these days it's the signature event of the Formula Regional Oceania Championship. Many iconic drivers have taken part in the NZ Grand Prix over the years, from international stars like Sir Jackie Stewart to local legends like Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and Nick Cassidy. Michael Clark is a historian and former driver himself and he walks Jesse through an eventful history.

"New Zealand's sailing professor" Mark Orams has had a long career in sailing. He won 12 New Zealand titles over a range of different yachting classes. He was named New Zealand Yachtsman of the Year as a member of Steinlager 2 which won the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. He was a member of Team New Zealand's America's Cup defences in 2000 and 2003 and went on to work as a national youth selection and Olympic sailing coach. Mark joins Mark Leishman for a trip through some of his greatest achievements.

Five-time Commonwealth Games medalist Nigel Avery is one of the most versatile athletes New Zealand has produced. He started his sporting career in athletics, excelling in shot-put and triple jump. He then tried his hand at bobsleigh and competed with the national squad for 5 years before discovering weightlifting which took him to the Olympic and Commonwealth games These days Nigel leads the New Zealand Olympic team as the Chef de mission.

It was the summer of 1992 and the cricketing world turned its eyes to New Zealand and Australia for the ICC Cricket World Cup. Among the stand-out players was Chris Harris, his efforts with bat and ball played a crucial role in helping the kiwis make it all the way to the semifinals.

Triathlete Hamish Carter came to the public's attention in 2002 when he won a bronze medal in the event at the Commonwealth Games. That fame surged to global heights during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he won gold.

Alan Whetton was part of the All Black team that won the inaugural 1987 Rugby World cup. Alan also played for the 'New Zealand Cavaliers' on their controversial 1986 tour of South Africa. The Cavaliers were put together after the NZRU declined to send an All Blacks squad to the then apartheid state.