Hayden Wilde, the Whakatane athlete who now calls Tauranga home, has won New Zealand's first medal of Tokyo 2020, winning bronze in the Men's triathlon.
A stunning run leg from the 23-year-old saw him continue New Zealand's fine tradition in the sport, becoming the third New Zealander to win an Olympic medal behind Hamish Carter (gold in Athens) and Bevan Docherty (silver in Athens, bronze in Beijing).
After finding himself in the third group in the bike and in a potentially vulnerable position, Wilde's group caught the lead bunch on lap five of the eight-lap bike and he was never outside the lead group in the run that was whittled to three by the final of four laps.
For all money it appeared the medals were decided; it would just be a matter of how Wilde, Great Britain's Alex Yee and Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt would divvy them up.
Wilde looked comfortable and a live chance for gold until the Norwegian, to the shock of himself, put in an epic burst to claim victory in 1h 45m 04s, with Yee second and a delighted Wilde 20s behind the winner.
An emotional Wilde dedicated the placing to his dad. "He died 12 years ago and never got to see me race," he said.
Wilde said he never panicked when back in the bike leg.
"I had to keep composed and bring it back. I was lucky to miss a crash."
Tayler Reid, after a strong swim and bike, finished 18th, 1m 50s behind.
The race got off to the worst possible start. A disconnect between the race officials and the broadcast launches. As the gun to start went, a large launch was blocking the dive of a good third of the athletes. A false start was called but that didn't register with those swimmers who had got away cleanly.
That forced officials in dinghies to round up those swimmers like a group of do-gooders trying to corral a pod of whales headed for the shallows. With a bit of luck, no swimmer was caught by a blade from the outboard motors.
It was an awkward start, which seemed apt for New Zealand's campaign.
The lead-up to the Olympics was fraught with politics and division, with the selectors told to get back in the room after not following their own criteria. They will be toasting themselves for their success tonight.
Although there were appeals against the selection of the women's contingent, most of the controversy centred on the inclusion of Gisborne athlete Reid at the expense of Sam Ward, New Zealand's second-ranked Olympic-distant triathlete.
As it turned out, the warring camps might have both been vindicated, with Reid's work strong early before fading on the run, his weakest leg.
Reid was included because of his perceived superiority in the mixed relay, a new Olympic event, but he was also prominent early in the individual.
A noted swimmer, Reid emerged from the water at the Odaiba Marine Park course in fifth, just four seconds behind the leader, Vincent Luis of France.
Wilde was a further 34s back in the 37th.
Reid's strong swim enabled him to sit comfortably in the lead group of 10 cyclists, a group that held for three of the eight laps on a tight and technical course. They were reeled in by a similar-sized chase group on the lap four and by Wilde's group a lap later.
Apart from a couple of solo darts, that big bunch, which made up the majority of athletes who started the race, stayed together and raced at a comfortable speed to the final transition.
It didn't make for great viewing for cycling purists, but it did ensure this race became essentially a 10km road race and fed into Wilde's strengths.
