New Zealand has arrived at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony with Aaron Gate and Jo Aleh bearing the flag for the world to see.
The Kiwis shared the boat with four other teams — Oman, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
New Zealand has 195 athletes in the Olympics this year, across 23 sports.
There are 98 men and 97 women, and Māori athletes make up 17.4% of the team (34 athletes).
Our youngest athlete is footballer Milly Clegg, 18, and our oldest is 45-year-old equestrian Tim Price.
Aleh was presented with Te Māhutonga, the first of the New Zealand team’s kākahu (cloak), by chef de mission Nigel Avery and Dame Cindy Kiro yesterday in a small ceremony in front of Olympic teammates, friends and whānau.
On the boat, Gate could be seen tucked behind Aleh, also adorned in a kākahu.
The Olympic team had smaller New Zealand flags to wave, and jumped up and down and waved to the thousands of spectators lining the banks of the Seine. One commentator described the New Zealanders as looking "dapper" in their black and white uniforms.
Stairmand and Vette waved a New Zealand flag to support their teammates some 16,000 kilometres away.
At NZ House in Paris, New Zealanders watched the opening ceremony with celebratory tipples of Champagne and cheers. Those gathered in the courtyard were under brollies as the Parisian rain poured down but failed to dampen spirits.
Meanwhile, New Zealand surfers Billy Stairmand and Saffi Vette made an appearance, alongside the Olympic surfing competitors in Tahiti.
Brazilian flagbearer Raquel Kochhann has had quite the journey to Paris. The rugby sevens player competed for her country in both the 2016 Rio Olympic games and the 2020 Tokyo games.
However, she had to take an unplanned 18 month break — she hurt her knee first, then she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
World Rugby reported in January 2024 that Kochhann underwent chemotherapy and continued to train throughout her treatment.
"I passed the last year doing all the treatments against the cancer and now I’m here ready to play again. Stronger, faster and [with] more motivation," Kochann said.
She said its a "big honour" to wear her jersey. "It can be a South American tournament or the World Cup or an Olympic Games. Every game counts a lot and I’m really proud to be part of this team."
Teams of one
Four countries have only sent one competing athlete this year: Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru and Somalia.
Belize has sent Shaun Gill, who is in the 100m, alongside Nauru's Winzar Kakiouea. Liechtenstein has sent cross-country cyclist Romano Puntener, and Somalia was pinning their hopes on 800m runner Ali Idow Hassan.
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