Cross-country skier Ben Koons is the second athlete to have met the Winter Olympics "A qualification" standard for February's games in Vancouver, Canada, after competition in Finland this week.
The United States-based Koons has joined fellow cross-country skier Katie Calder of Hamilton, who met the International Skiing Federation (FIS) qualifying standard in July, as Snow Sports New Zealand nominations to the New Zealand Olympic Committee, cross-country sports official John Burridge said.
NZOC team services manager Robin Wong said the International Olympics Federation would announce New Zealand's athlete quota on January 18.
The Winter Games team announcement would be made once that allocation was known.
Koons said in an email he was relieved the pressure to chase FIS points was off and he could now concentrate on training.
Koons failed to meet the qualifying standard by a whisker at the Winter Games New Zealand in August.
He obtained 99.61 FIS points in the classic race at Muonio, Finland, while suffering from an illness, and decided not to ski the freestyle race.
Other New Zealand athletes attempting to qualify in Finland include Nat Anglem of Christchurch and Canadian-based biathlete Sarah Murphy.
