New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
New Zealand competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. The country won 17 medals in total, including six gold medals, and finished twenty-first on the medals table. Team. New Zealand had 23 athletes, plus 1 cycling pilot, competing across 7 sports. It was the nation's smallest team since Barcelona in 1992, in part because it included no representatives in team events such as wheelchair rugby and boccia. Michael Johnson, New Zealand's most successful Paralympic shooter, carried the flag at the  opening ceremony. Sophie Pascoe, who won six swimming medals at the Games, carried the flag at the closing ceremony. Former Paralympic swimmer and gold medallist Duane Kale was the Chef de Mission. Paralympic cyclist Jayne Parsons withdrew from the team after failing her final pre-Games fitness test. At age 13 years and 8 months, swimmer Nikita Howarth was the youngest member of the team as well as New Zealand's youngest ever Paralympian. Events. Shooting. Michael Johnson was New Zealand's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. Swimming. Note: Qualifiers for the finals (Q) of all events were decided  on a time only basis, therefore ranks shown are overall ranks versus competitors in all heats. Also, ranks shown for those who did not advance are their final ranks.