The star of the 1990 Commonwealth Games was a young New Zealand gymnast whose shock win catapulted her to national celebrity status. But Nikki Jenkins wasn’t our only gymnastic champion that year – this is the story of Angela Walker, New Zealand’s forgotten gold medalist. When you see an athlete competing at an Olympics or … Read more
The star of the 1990 Commonwealth Games was a young New Zealand gymnast whose shock win catapulted her to national celebrity status. But Nikki Jenkins wasn’t our only gymnastic champion that year – this is the story of Angela Walker, New Zealand’s forgotten gold medalist. When you see an athlete competing at an Olympics or … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Armed police arrest raises alarm, report makes strong call for Auckland port to go north, and a battle is going on among Fonterra shareholders. Serious concerns have been raised about the trial of armed police officers, after a team arrested an alleged non-violent offender over … Read more
After a short but successful career in China, table tennis champion Chunli Li moved to New Zealand to coach. She soon discovered she was better than everyone, and that was a problem. Chunli Li trains alone. In the basement of the Panmure YMCA, four regulation table tennis tables occupy the floor space. On the wall … Read more
From tennis champions to dance craze inventors, Scratched celebrates New Zealand sporting heroes who never got their due – but whose legacies deserve to be in lights. This month, quadruple Commonwealth Games medal winner, Chunli Li. Chunli Li moved to New Zealand in 1987 to retire from table tennis, aged 25. Instead, she was asked … Read more
In 1981, New Zealand runner Anne Audain accepted prize money for winning a race. In doing so, she changed the status of professional sports all around the world. Anne Audain always led from the front. In middle distance running, more so than the shorter races, strategy will often beat raw speed. Drafting behind the leader, … Read more
From tennis champions to dance craze inventors, Scratched celebrates New Zealand sporting heroes who never got their due – but whose legacies deserve to be in lights. This month, the world’s winningest road runner, Anne Audain. Anne Audain has won more races than she’s lost. In fact, of the 112 road races that Audain ran … Read more
Spend money to make money? Not really. It turns out there’s very little in the Commonwealth Games for a host other than cost. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens and shared a similar fate to many of its successors: the initial costs were vastly underestimated, they were plagued with cost … Read more
Urban renewal, affordable housing and improved transport – all from a sporting event. Mark Thomas says rather than being a financial dog, the Commonwealth Games would give Auckland’s infrastructure planning some impetus. A government a little larger than New Zealand’s, with a capital city a bit smaller than Auckland, has just completed a six year … Read more
It might seem like New Zealand didn’t top the medal table at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but actually, we were the real winners. Alex Braae explains how. It is tough being the small player on the world stage. New Zealand, by any measure, is tiny. Some would argue that it’s bred a cultural desire for … Read more
World champion para-swimmer, post-grad student and activist Mary Fisher doesn’t ever seem to stop moving. Alex Braae rang her up to find out why. I interviewed Mary Fisher during the last election campaign. It was a winter night in Wellington, and a few dozen people had turned up to one of the Central Library’s meeting … Read more