Legacy Project - Athletes

Athletes

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People & Values

Legacy Project

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Arthur Lydiard

Athletics Coach

In the world of running, there are few names as revered as Arthur Lydiard. Widely considered one of the greatest coaches in history, Arthur’s unconventional training methods and unique approach to coaching forever changed the sport of distance running.

Ruby Tui

Rugby Player

Ruby Tui burst onto the world stage at the 2012 Oceania Women’s Rugby Sevens Championship in Fiji. Selected through the high-performance programme Go 4 Gold, she’d only been playing rugby for two years, but Ruby was determined to succeed.

Dame Valerie Adams

Olympian

Shot put legend Dame Valerie Adams is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most successful athletes. Born in Rotorua on 6 October 1984 to a Tongan mother, Lilika Kimoana Ngauamo, and an English father, Sidney Barry Adams.

Lydia Ko

Golfer

Bogyung Lydia Ko was five when she first picked up a golf club. She was visiting Sydney when her aunt, Insook Hyon, gave her a 7-iron and a putter to play with. “I must have liked it, because when you’re that young, if you don’t like something you just toss it,” she said.

Les Mills

Fitness Innovator

From a small gym in a New Zealand garage to a global phenomenon, Les Mills has revolutionised the fitness industry. Its founder, Leslie ‘Les’ Mills, was a New Zealand athlete with a strong desire to share his passion for fitness with the community. With the help of his son and daughter-in-law, Phillip and Jackie, Les Mills International has become an internationally successful business and changed the face of exercise forever.

Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, Chris Amon

Race Car Drivers

Motorsport is at the leading edge of innovation, where cutting-edge technology, advanced materials and human capabilities are pushed to their absolute limits. There was a time in the 1960s when three exceptional New Zealanders simultaneously reached the pinnacle of the sport.