# List of flag bearers for New Zealand at the Olympics

This is a list of flag bearers who have represented New Zealand at the Olympics.
Flag bearers carry the New Zealand flag and, since 2004, wear Te Māhutonga cloak at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Arthur Porritt, Stuart Blakely and David Aspin are the only New Zealand Olympians to have carried the flag at two different Olympic opening ceremonies.

## Te Māhutonga cloak

This is worn by New Zealand's Olympic flag bearer at the opening ceremony of Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The Māori feather cloak is a traditional textile that offers the distinguished wearer additional mana through its connection with the previous sportspeople who have worn it. It was first worn to the games by Beatrice Faumuina at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games after being presented by the Māori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu in a ceremony where it also adorned some of the previous flag bearers including Harold Nelson, Ian Ferguson, Mark Todd, Barbara Kendall and Blyth Tait. Te Māhutonga translates from Māori to represent the constellation of the Southern Cross.

## Opening ceremony flag bearers

| # | Event year | Season | Flag bearer | Sport |
| 1 | 1920 | Summer | Harry Wilson | Athletics |
| 2 | 1924 | Summer | Arthur Porritt | Athletics |
| 3 | 1928 | Summer | Arthur Porritt | Athletics |
| 4 | 1932 | Summer | Jack Macdonald | Rowing |
| 5 | 1936 | Summer | Jack Lovelock | Athletics |
| 6 | 1948 | Summer | Harold Nelson | Athletics |
| 7 | 1952 | Winter | Austin Hayward | Team assistant manager |
| 8 | 1952 | Summer | Harold Cleghorn | Weightlifting |
| 9 | 1956 | Summer | Ritchie Johnston | Track cycling |
| 10 | 1960 | Winter | Bill Hunt | Alpine skiing |
| 11 | 1960 | Summer | Les Mills | Athletics |
| 12 | 1964 | Summer | Peter Snell | Athletics |
| 13 | 1968 | Winter | Thomas Huppert | Alpine skiing |
| 14 | 1968 | Summer | Don Oliver | Weightlifting |
| 15 | 1972 | Winter | Alan Ward | Team manager |
| 16 | 1972 | Summer | David Aspin | Wrestling |
| 17 | 1976 | Winter | Stuart Blakely | Alpine skiing |
| 18 | 1976 | Summer | David Aspin | Wrestling |
| 19 | 1980 | Winter | Stuart Blakely | Alpine skiing |
| 20 | 1980* | Summer | Brian Newth | Modern pentathlon |
| 21 | 1984 | Winter | Markus Hubrich | Alpine skiing |
| 22 | 1984 | Summer | John Walker | Athletics |
| 23 | 1988 | Winter | Simon Wi Rutene | Alpine skiing |
| 24 | 1988 | Summer | Ian Ferguson | Canoeing |
| 25 | 1992 | Winter | Chris Nicholson | Speed skating |
| 26 | 1992 | Summer | Mark Todd | Equestrianism |
| 27 | 1994 | Winter | Tony Smith | Short track speed skating |
| 28 | 1996 | Summer | Barbara Kendall | Sailing |
| 29 | 1998 | Winter | Peter Henry | Bobsleigh |
| 30 | 2000 | Summer | Blyth Tait | Equestrian - Eventing |
| 31 | 2002 | Winter | Angela Paul | Luge |
| 32 | 2004 | Summer | Beatrice Faumuina | Athletics |
| 33 | 2006 | Winter | Sean Becker | Curling |
| 34 | 2008 | Summer | Mahé Drysdale | Rowing |
| 35 | 2010 | Winter | Juliane Bray | Snowboarding |
| 36 | 2012 | Summer | Nick Willis | Athletics |
| 37 | 2014 | Winter | Shane Dobbin | Speed skating |
| 38 | 2016 | Summer | Peter Burling, Blair Tuke | Sailing |
| 39 | 2018 | Winter | Beau-James Wells | Freestyle skiing |
| 40 | 2020 | Summer | Sarah Hirini, David Nyika | Rugby sevens, boxing |
| 41 | 2022 | Winter | Finn Bilous, Alice Robinson | Freestyle skiing, alpine skiing |
| 42 | 2024 | Summer | Jo Aleh, Aaron Gate | Sailing, track cycling |
* competed under New Zealand Olympic Committee flag

## Closing ceremony flag bearers

| Year | Season | Flag bearer | Sport |
| 1988 | Summer | Bruce Kendall | Sailboarding |
| 1992 | Summer | Barbara Kendall | Sailboarding |
| 1996 | Summer | Danyon Loader | Swimming |
| 1998 | Winter | Angela Paul | Luge |
| 2000 | Summer | Rob Waddell | Rowing |
| 2002 | Winter | Claudia Riegler | Alpine skiing |
| 2004 | Summer | Sarah Ulmer | Cycling |
| 2006 | Winter | Sean Becker | Curling |
| 2008 | Summer | Caroline & Georgina Evers-Swindell | Rowing |
| 2010 | Winter | Ben Sandford | Skeleton |
| 2012 | Summer | Mahé Drysdale | Rowing |
| 2014 | Winter | Jossi Wells | Freestyle skiing |
| 2016 | Summer | Lisa Carrington | Canoe sprint |
| 2018 | Winter | Zoi Sadowski-Synnott | Snowboarding |
| 2020 | Summer | Valerie Adams | Athletics |
| 2022 | Winter | Nico Porteous | Freestyle skiing |
| 2024 | Summer | Finn Butcher, Lisa Carrington | Canoe slalom, canoe sprint |