New Zealand competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the 2020 Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the country's twenty-fourth appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics, having made its debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and competed at every Games since. The New Zealand team consisted of 212 athletes, 112 men and 100 women, across twenty-one sports.
The New Zealand team collected a total of 20 medals, seven gold, six silver and seven bronze, at these Games, surpassing the record of 18 gained at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The seven gold medals collected was second only to the eight medals collected at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Rowing led the sports with five medals, followed by canoeing with three medals, two medals in each of rugby sevens, cycling and athletics, and one medal in each of sailing, golf, boxing, trampolining, tennis and triathlon. It was the first time New Zealand won medals in trampolining (and gymnastics in general) and tennis.
Sprint canoeist Lisa Carrington won gold medals in the women's K-1 200 metres, K-1 500 metres and with Caitlin Regal in the K-2 500 metres to become New Zealand's most successful Olympian with six medals in all, including five gold medals. Rower Emma Twigg claimed the gold medal in the women's single sculls after finishing fourth in the previous two Games. The men's rowing eight claimed the gold medal for the first time since 1972, with Hamish Bond becoming the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at three successive Olympics. Rowing pair Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast won the gold medal in the women's pair before helping the women's eight win the silver medal. The women's rugby sevens team beat France 26–12 in the final to claim the gold medal, bettering their silver medal at the 2016 Games.
Medal tables
Unless otherwise stated, all dates and times are in Japan Standard Time (UTC+9), three hours behind New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12).
| width="78%" align="left" valign="top" | MedalNameSportEventDate Grace Prendergast Rowing Women's coxless pair Rowing Women's single sculls Hamish BondTom MurrayMichael BrakeDan WilliamsonPhillip WilsonShaun KirkhamMatt MacdonaldSam Bosworth (cox) Rowing Men's eight Rugby sevens Women's tournament Canoeing Women's K-1 200 metres Caitlin Regal Canoeing Women's K-2 500 metres Canoeing Women's K-1 500 metres Hannah Osborne Rowing Women's double sculls Rugby sevens Men's tournament Emma DykeLucy SpoorsKelsey BevanGrace PrendergastKerri GowlerBeth RossJackie GowlerCaleb Shepherd (cox) Rowing Women's eight Peter BurlingBlair TukeSailingMen's 49er Cycling Women's keirin Cycling Men's omnium Triathlon Men's triathlon Michael Venus Tennis Men's doubles Gymnastics Men's trampoline Athletics Women's shot put Boxing Men's heavyweight Athletics Men's shot put Golf Women's tournament
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Medals by sportSportTotal Rowing3205 Canoeing3003 Rugby sevens1102 Cycling0202 Sailing0101 Athletics0022 Boxing0011 Golf0011 Gymnastics0011 Tennis0011 Triathlon0011 Total767 20
Medals by dateDateTotal 24 July0000 25 July0000 26 July0011 27 July0000 28 July0202 29 July1001 30 July2114 31 July1012 1 August0011 2 August0000 3 August2114 4 August0000 5 August1214 6 August0000 7 August0011 8 August0000 Total 7 6 7 20
Medals by genderGenderTotal Male1359 Female63211 Mixed0000 Total76720
Multiple medallistsNameSport Total Lisa Carrington Canoeing 3 0 0 3 Kerri Gowler Rowing 1 1 0 2 Grace Prendergast Rowing 1 1 0 2
Officials Former rower Rob Waddell was the New Zealand chef de mission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, having served in the same role at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Competitors The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games. Reserves in field hockey, football, and rowing are not counted. SportMenWomenTotalAthletics 8 5 13Boxing 1 0 1Canoeing 3 5 8Cycling 12 8 19Diving 1 0 1Equestrian 5 1 6Field hockey 16 16 32Football 22 22 44Golf 1 1 2Gymnastics 2 1 3Karate 0 1 1Rowing 15 15 30Rugby sevens 13 13 26Sailing 7 3 10Shooting 0 2 2Surfing 1 1 2Swimming 2 5 7Taekwondo 1 0 1Tennis 2 0 2Triathlon 2 2 4Weightlifting 2 3 5 Total 116 104 220 Seventeen-year-old swimmer Erika Fairweather (born 31 December 2003) was New Zealand's youngest competitor, while 51-year-old equestrian showjumper Bruce Goodin (born 10 November 1969) was the oldest competitor. Thirty-three competitors (15.6 percent) were of Māori descent.
Athletics
New Zealand athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of three athletes in each event):
Fifteen track and field athletes were officially named to the New Zealand team on 16 April 2021, with shot putter and triple Olympic medalist Valerie Adams leading them to her historic fifth Games. Notable athletes also featured multiple medallist Nick Willis in the middle-distance running and the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and Rio 2016 bronze medalist Tom Walsh in the men's shot put.
Track & road events AthleteEventHeat SemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankSam TannerMen's 1500 m3:43.229 Did not advanceNick Willis3:36.887 q3:35.419 Did not advanceMalcolm HicksMen's marathoncolspan=4 rowspan=2 2:23:1264Zane Robertson2:17:0436Quentin RewMen's 50 km walkcolspan=4 3:57:3316Camille BuscombWomen's 5000 m15:24.3914colspan=2 Did not advanceWomen's 10000 mcolspan=4 32:10.4920
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionHamish KerrMen's high jump2.28=4 q2.3010Jacko GillMen's shot put20.969 q20.719Tom Walsh21.492 Q22.47Valerie AdamsWomen's shot put18.836 Q19.62Maddi Wesche18.6511 q18.986Lauren BruceWomen's hammer throw67.7123 Did not advanceJulia Ratcliffe73.206 q72.699
Boxing
New Zealand entered one male boxer into the Olympic tournament for the first time since 2004. 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion David Nyika scored an outright quarterfinal victory to secure a spot in the men's heavyweight division at the 2020 Asia & Oceania Qualification Tournament in Amman, Jordan.
AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankDavid NyikaMen's heavyweightW 5–0W 5–0L 1–4Did not advance
Canoeing
Slalom New Zealand canoeists qualified one boat for each of the following classes through the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain. Former software engineer Callum Gilbert, with Rio 2016 silver medalist Luuka Jones paddling along her way to fourth straight Olympics, was officially named to the New Zealand's slalom canoeing roster on 12 March 2020.
AthleteEventPreliminarySemifinalFinalRun 1RankRun 2RankBestRankTimeRankTimeRankCallum GilbertMen's K-1151.8523101.1520101.1523 Did not advanceLuuka JonesWomen's C-1116.558115.199115.1911 Q130.3913 Did not advanceWomen's K-1110.2210101.723101.723 Q108.975 Q110.676
Sprint New Zealand canoeists qualified four boats in each of the following distances for the Games through the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary and the 2020 Oceania Championships in Penrith, New South Wales. Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie were officially named to the New Zealand canoe sprint roster for the Games on 21 April 2021, with the women's kayak squad, led by two-time defending Lisa Carrington, joining them two months later.
AthleteEventHeatsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankMax BrownKurtis ImrieMen's K-2 1000 m3:17.2104 QF3:10.2202 SF3:17.6842 FA3:17.2675Lisa CarringtonWomen's K-1 200 m40.7151 SFcolspan=2 38.127 1 FA38:120 Women's K-1 500 m1:48.4631 SFcolspan=2 1:51.6801 FA1:51.216Caitlin RegalWomen's K-1 500 m1:50.2973 SFcolspan=2 1:53.4953 FB1:53.6819Lisa CarringtonCaitlin Regal Women's K-2 500 m1:43.8361 SFcolspan=2 1:36.724 1 FA1:35.785 Teneale HattonAlicia Hoskin1:49.8324 QF1:50.5074 SF1:44.1198 FB1:41.12114Lisa CarringtonTeneale HattonAlicia HoskinCaitlin RegalWomen's K-4 500 m1:33.9592 SFcolspan=2 1:36.2932 FA1:37.1684 Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Cycling
Road New Zealand entered two riders to compete in the men's Olympic road race, by virtue of their top 50 national finish (for men) in the UCI World Ranking. The road cycling team was officially named to the New Zealand roster for the Games on 17 June 2021.
AthleteEventTimeRankGeorge BennettMen's road race 6:11:46 26Men's time trial1:00:28.3925Patrick BevinMen's road raceDid not finishMen's time trial57:24.2910
Track Following the completion of the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, New Zealand riders accumulated spots for both men and women in the team pursuit and madison, as well as the men's team sprint, based on their country's results in the final UCI Olympic rankings. As a result of their place in the men's team sprint, New Zealand won its right to enter two riders in the men's sprint and keirin.
On 19 November 2020, the New Zealand Olympic Committee officially named a fifteen-member track cycling squad for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020, with Aaron Gate, Jaime Nielsen, Rushlee Buchanan, and Rio 2016 team sprint silver medallist Ethan Mitchell racing around the velodrome at their third straight Olympics.
Sprint AthleteEventQualificationRound 1Repechage 1Round 2Repechage 2Round 3Repechage 3QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeSpeed (km/h)RankOppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)RankMen's sprint9.70574.18924 QLL Did not advance9.63174.75918 QW 10.09971.294W 9.84573.134LL Did not advanceWomen's sprint10.56368.16211 QW 10.99665.478LW 11.14464.609LL Did not advance11.11664.77227 Did not advance
Team sprint AthleteEventQualificationSemifinalsFinalTimeSpeed (km/h)RankOppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)RankOppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)RankSam DakinEthan MitchellSam WebsterCallum SaundersMen's team sprint43.06662.694 5L 42.97862.8237W 43.70361.7817
Pursuit AthleteEventQualificationSemifinalsFinalTimeRankOpponentResultsRankOpponentResultsRankAaron GateRegan GoughJordan KerbyCampbell StewartMen's team pursuit3:46.0793 QL 3:42.3973 FBL 4Bryony BothaRushlee BuchananHolly EdmondstonJaime NielsenWomen's team pursuit4:12.5366 qL 4:10.223 7L 4:10.6008 Qualification legend: Q: qualified, in contention for gold medal final; q: qualified, in contention for bronze medal final; FB: qualified for bronze medal final
Keirin AthleteEvent1st RoundRepechageQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalRankRankRankRankRankCallum SaundersMen's keirin2 Q5 Did not advanceSam Webster5 R3 Did not advanceEllesse AndrewsWomen's keirin4 R1 Q2 Q2 Q
Omnium AthleteEventScratch raceTempo raceElimination racePoints raceTotalRankPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankPointsPointsRankCampbell StewartMen's omnium7281218532151129Holly EdmondstonWomen's omnium92414141022=576710
Madison AthleteEventSprint pointsLap pointsTotal pointsRankCampbell StewartCorbin StrongMen's madison3 −20 −17 11Rushlee BuchananJessie HodgesWomen's madison1 −40 −39 11
Mountain biking New Zealand qualified one mountain biker for the men's Olympic cross-country race, as a result of his nation's sixteenth-place finish in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of 16 May 2021. The New Zealand Olympic Committee nominated Anton Cooper to occupy the slot for the rescheduled Games on 17 June 2021.
AthleteEventTimeRankAnton CooperMen's cross-country 1:26:00 6
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