Paris 2024 Messages from the CEO

Day 5

Kia ora and bonjour from Paris.

Another big day for the NZ Paralympic Team and Para sport in New Zealand. Whilst we only had two of our Team competing on the field of play, there was still some important activity occurring off of it.

Firstly, our newest Paralympian competed at the Games, as Matthew Britz took to the Paralympic stage in the Para table tennis competition. It was a frantic competition against his more seasoned competitor from Thailand, who was more than twice his senior.

Matthew nailed some early points to jump out in the first game, before his opponent settled to take the first game. It was a see-sawing match as Matthew took the second game, his opponent the third, Matthew the fourth to force a deciding game. Back at home in New Zealand, with coverage live on TVNZ1, Matthew was keeping everyone on the edge of their seats, riding every point, finally succumbing, and going down in a hard-fought five games.

The Para table tennis competition format is brutal – straight into knock-out matches, and you need to win to keep your medal hopes alive. It’s an interesting insight across the Paralympic Games, with different competition formats seeing Para athletes progress to medal rounds.

Some examples to ponder. Para badminton starts with a pool structure with multiple results to determine who progresses to semifinals. In the Shooting Para sport, Paralympian #148 Michael Johnson had to finish in the top 8 to qualify, out of a field size of 29, before going on to finish in 5th in his final. Wheelchair basketball involves 8 teams, and all 8 teams progress from the group stages to the quarter finals. So every competition format is different, and just shows how tough the Para table tennis competition is. So, a huge congratulations to Matthew on his debut and for no doubt inspiring people across the country to consider taking up the sport.

At Stade de France in the evening session, the crowd was once again rocking the venue making plenty of noise getting behind the Para athletes, including NZ Paralympic Team’s Paralympian #208 William Stedman, as he took to the track and the sandpit for his Long Jump T36. Talk about fine margins once again… Three competitors equalled the Paralympic Record early with the same mark, and William was able to land some valid jumps to be narrowly behind, and ultimately remained in fourth place, just 2cm off the podium. In fact, the there was only 9cm separating the gold medal and fifth place. Well done to William, who is back on track tomorrow for the 400m T36 Final.

Away from the competition venues, today was another significant milestone for the Paralympic Movement in New Zealand, for PNZ and the NZ Paralympic Team, as we welcomed the Hon Chris Bishop, the first ever Minister for Sport and Recreation to attend a Paralympic Games in support of our Paralympians.

The Minister’s time in Paris commenced with a visit to the Paralympic Village, hosted by Chef de Mission Raylene Bates and Deputy Chef de Mission Lynette Grace. The visit began with a wonderful welcome from cultural lead Kelly James, supported with attendance and waiata from members of the NZ Paralympic Team, before the Minister, and special guests chatted and posed for photos with members of the NZ Paralympic Team. We were also pleased to welcome Ambassador Bilkey, the NZL Ambassador to France, HPSNZ Director Steve Tew, Senior Embassy staff, and Swimming NZ CEO Steve Johns. We finished the visit with some dinner at the Paralympic Village Dining Hall, running into Paralympian #225 and silver medalist Anna Taylor on the way! Thanks to all members of the NZ Paralympic Team for making the Minister and guests feel welcome and part of the extended whanau.

The Minister was able to get out to the track to see William’s Long Jump Final and has another two packed days ahead to see as much Para sport as possible. There is also an opportunity for the Minister to meet family and friends in Paris for a BBQ and drinks. He is already becoming fully immersed in the Para sport world, and we look forward to further hosting him and sharing in the unique stories and successes of our NZ Paralympic Team.

As we cross over the halfway point of the Games, I wanted to send a huge thanks to everyone that is supporting our NZ Paralympic Team from back home in Aotearoa New Zealand and all over the world. A special thanks to Paralympian #166 Dame Sophie Pascoe and Scotty Stevenson for anchoring the extensive and insightful Game coverage. This truly is providing a platform to give the country Something To Talk About, and will no doubt be the inspiration to our next generation of Paralympians. But a huge thanks also to every member of the NZ Paralympic Team – it is because of you that we all have a reason to be on this journey as well, and you continue to inspire us all to be the greatest form of ourselves. Enjoy the second half of the Games and remember to #TalkAboutThis.