From the Chief Executive
Kia ora tātou,
What a start to 2026! The Milano Cortina Olympic Games have provided the ultimate challenge to New Zealand’s Snow Sports athletes and they have responded with a record-equalling total of three medals and an outstanding 11 top eight finishes (up from three in 2022).
Amazing stuff from Zoi Sadowski-Synott – who now has five Olympic medals, is the most decorated Olympic snowboarder of all time and joins the ranks of New Zealand’s greatest Olympians – along with fellow medal winner in his debut Olympic event, Luca Harrington.
While medals are one measure of success, another is the way Kiwi athletes carry themselves and represent our country on the world stage, and once again we couldn’t have asked for more from this group of inspiring young people.
Congratulations to Chef de Mission Marty Toomey and all those who have been part of these Olympic campaigns – athletes, coaches, support staff and others. You have all done New Zealand proud.
We look forward to the Paralympic Winter Games beginning on 6 March, where alpine skiers Adam Hall and Corey Peters will carry New Zealand’s hopes.
Congratulations also to the winners at last week’s 2026 Halberg Awards, which was a wonderful occasion to celebrate the country’s outstanding sporting achievements of 2025.
Reflecting on the night, it was interesting and somewhat pleasing to hear all the winners shout out to the many people – coaches, NSOs, support staff, parents and others – who had contributed to their awards. While the athletes are the stars, to win on the world stage, all the pieces of the puzzle need to be in place, and it is a sign of the increasing maturity of our high performance sport system that this is now so widely recognised and acknowledged.
A special congratulations to our HPSNZ Board member Dame Valerie Adams who, along with Richie McCaw, was deservedly inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame at the Halberg Awards ceremony.
At the awards ceremony I had the honour of presenting the Sport NZ Sport Leadership Award to Commonwealth Sport CEO Katie Sadleir whose courage and commitment to advancing sport here and internationally have left a lasting mark. Her story of making meaningful contributions to sport at all levels in a multitude of ways, makes her a true role model for our sector.
Ngā mihi
Raelene
On the ground in Milano Cortina: Reflections from Fiona Mather
(Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
HPSNZ Update chatted with Fiona Mather, HPSNZ General Manager – Athlete Performance Support, just a couple of days before competition wrapped up in Milano Cortina.
What came through most strongly was her deep sense of privilege. “To witness New Zealand athletes at the pinnacle of their careers, after four years of preparation, is incredibly humbling,” she reflected.
HPSNZ Director of High Performance Steve Tew, also on the ground in Italy, echoed her view on the privilege of being on the ground in Milano – “being here is a close up and powerful reminder of the commitment and courage required to become an Olympian”.
Goldmine Innovation helping Paralympic Winter Games alpine skiers
(Photo by Marcus Hartmann/Getty Images)
New Zealand’s leading Paralympic alpine skiers, Adam Hall and Corey Peters, are again leaning on enhanced technology from HPSNZ’s Goldmine Innovation team as they both look to back up their previous medal hauls on the Olympia delle Tofane slope in Cortina next month.
Adam, heading into a record extending sixth Paralympic Winter Games with two gold and three bronze medals already to his name, is hoping enhancements to his outriggers to improve robustness and reliability will be a key weapon in his goal to once again stand on the podium.
Long time teammate Corey, who has claimed a gold, two silver and bronze from Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, is likewise looking to get increased speed performance with the latest iteration of his sit ski, developed by Goldmine Innovation in conjunction with the University of Canterbury.
Building NZ’s athlete pipeline for the future: The NSO Pre-HP Development Pathway
To date, seven New Zealand NSOs – Yachting, Athletics, Triathlon, Equestrian, Cycling, Rowing and Swimming – have submitted applications for HPSNZ’s recently introduced initiative to reshape how NSOs identify, develop and ready athletes and coaches for sustained success on the world stage.
And the first two NSOs to submit an application – Rowing NZ and Swimming NZ – are already up and running with their key initiatives under the new framework.
Supporting NSOs to develop athletes for future High Performance success within their Performance Pathway is a cornerstone of HPSNZ’s 2025–2028 strategy. Performance pathways are designed to prepare athletes for repeatable podium success at pinnacle events, including Brisbane 2032 and beyond.
HPSNZ’s Head of Performance Pathways, Tracey Paterson, says the development focused approach moves away from fragmented, age-based models toward a campaign-led, athlete-centred, coach-enabled system.
“It’s about creating clarity, intent, a person first approach with an uncompromising long term performance focus while reflecting New Zealand’s identity: agile, values-driven, inclusive, and ruthlessly competitive when it counts.
“We’re asking NSOs to lead with ownership and strategic clarity. This means clear NSO development plans aligned to future high performance success, and tailored support for athletes and coaches. The goal is to create environments that accelerate growth and prepare athletes for the demands of future high performance, where possible close to home support, setting them up for both sport and life success” says Tracey.
Team Behind the Team: Preparing Athletics for Glasgow 2026
With five months to go until the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, the Athletics New Zealand high performance programme is entering one of its most important phases.
While the athletes themselves move around the world chasing qualifying marks, real momentum is being built by the HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support (APS) team — the “team behind the team” providing world class multi-disciplinary support including Physiotherapy, Strength and Conditioning, and Performance Nutrition.
Read about the focus of the Athlete Performance Support team ➜
Training to Refer workshops provide important tools for athlete facing staff
More than 100 coaches and HPSNZ athlete facing staff from all APS disciplines, Coaching and Performance Life attended the inaugural Training to Refer (T2R) workshops throughout the latter part second half of 2025.
The programme, developed and facilitated by HPSNZ Wellbeing and Engagement Lead Dr Toni Minniti, Head of Performance Psychology Dr John Sullivan and Wellbeing Programme Advisor Bruna Lima, is a foundation initiative of the Athlete Mental Health and Performance blueprint.
The first series of workshops were designed to ensure HPSNZ athlete facing staff and coaches know what to look for and what to do to support mental health and wellbeing.
Using a combination of in person and online workshops in Auckland, Cambridge and Karapiro, athlete facing staff and coaches were provided with training and tools to help them promote and work with athletes in environments that support health and performance.
Sport New Zealand Leadership Award for Katie Sadleir
(Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images)
Commonwealth Sport CEO Katie Sadleir has been named as the recipient of the Sport New Zealand Leadership Award at the 2026 Halberg Awards.
In presenting the award, Sport NZ Group CEO Raelene Castle acknowledged Katie as a leader whose impact has been felt across continents, codes and generations.
Born in Scotland and raised in Canada, Katie eventually made Aotearoa her home. She represented New Zealand at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and then again at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze in synchronised swimming (now artistic swimming).
But her impact extends far beyond her time in the pool.
2026 Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship recipients announced
(Delly Carr / www.Photosport.nz)
Quality of applications and diversity of sports and study areas are the hallmarks of the 2026 Prime Minister’s Scholarship recipients.
More than $1.8 million in study and student allowance fees have been awarded to 200 athletes in 31 sports, with the biggest cluster of recipients in HPSNZ-invested sports from Rowing (31) and Cycling (18) through to single recipients from smaller sports such as Climbing, Lacrosse, Underwater Hockey and Ice Speed Skating.
Gold Scholarships, for retired podium athletes, have been awarded to Dame Sophie Pascoe (pictured), Samuel Dickson, Tyla Nathan-Wong and Jackie Kiddle.
HPSNZ Head of Investment, Paul Smith, says the quality of applications was very good.
“What was pleasing to see was the strong alignment to athlete career plans which reflects the importance high performance athletes are placing on education and career planning while training and competing. It also reflects the support athletes have available from the HPSNZ Performance Life team and the connection with Player Development Managers for a number of team sports such as Rugby, Hockey, Netball and Cricket.”
The range of study options was also broad with athletes studying traditional courses such as law, health and medical science, arts and engineering through to Governance at the Institute of Directors, BCITO Apprenticeships and a Sign Language Course.