The Paris Olympics is coming to a close.

Dame Lisa Carrington and Finn Butcher are leading out Kiwi athletes as the flagbearers for the closing ceremony, getting underway now.

New Zealand now has 20 medals, including ten gold after a Bronze for Ally Wollaston and another Gold for Ellesse Andrews in the velodrome overnight.

New Zealand Chef de Mission Nigel Avery told Ryan Bridge it's one of our best Olympic campaigns ever.

“45 of our team will walk around with a piece of tin around their neck to get back to New Zealand. That’s huge — that’s about 20 percent of our total competing body, and so, it’s awesome.”

LISTEN ABOVE

The Paris Olympics is coming to a close.
Dame Lisa Carrington and Finn Butcher are leading out Kiwi athletes as the flagbearers for the closing ceremony, getting underway now.
New Zealand now has 20 medals, including ten gold after a Bronze for Ally Wollaston and another Gold for Ellesse Andrews in the velodrome overnight.
New Zealand Chef de Mission Nigel Avery told Ryan Bridge it's one of our best Olympic campaigns ever.
“45 of our team will walk around with a piece of tin around their neck to get back to New Zealand. That’s huge — that’s about 20 percent of our total competing body, and so, it’s awesome.”
LISTEN ABOVE

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Nigel Avery: New Zealand Chef de Mission says about 20 percent of New Zealand Olympians in Paris have won a medal

Taylor Swift's upcoming London shows will go ahead after a foiled plot to attack her now-cancelled Vienna concerts.

A 19-year-old with Islamic State ties has been arrested and confirmed they planned a terror attack involving explosives and knives.

Two other teen suspects have also been arrested.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge there's major security concerns for Swift's five Wembley Stadium shows, which kick off Thursday.

“Naturally as you can imagine, high alert here in London as those teenagers are being questioned in Austria.”

LISTEN ABOVE

Taylor Swift's upcoming London shows will go ahead after a foiled plot to attack her now-cancelled Vienna concerts.
A 19-year-old with Islamic State ties has been arrested and confirmed they planned a terror attack involving explosives and knives.
Two other teen suspects have also been arrested.
UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge there's major security concerns for Swift's five Wembley Stadium shows, which kick off Thursday.
“Naturally as you can imagine, high alert here in London as those teenagers are being questioned in Austria.”
LISTEN ABOVE

Gavin Grey: UK correspondent says there's major security concerns for Taylor Swift London shows after Austria

Who are we to believe when it comes to kids in motels?

It’s undeniably a disaster. At its worst, we had 4000 kids living in motels and emergency accommodation in New Zealand.

And the last lot who said it was a complex problem that required complex solutions, they said it would take time, and we sort of bought that argument because it does seem incredibly complex.

And then yesterday, the Government comes along and claims to have cut the number of households living in emergency housing by a third in six months.

What’s more, they said in Auckland, they’ve almost halved the number of people living in emergency housing in three months.

How can you halve the number of people in emergency housing in three months?

Does that make sense to you? In Christchurch, it's gone from 285 to 183 in three months.

They said they’d used intensive work to cut the numbers.

I don’t know whether I’m just cynical but, do you believe that? Or do you think there’s some trick, some fudging of the numbers here or the categories that they're using, something like that.

If all we needed was a bit of intensive work, surely we could have cut through that long waiting list a lot earlier.

Kieran McAnulty on Three News last night had a crack at the Government.

“They're both claiming credit for something they didn't do and they're also crying about something when they've made it harder for people to access it.”

He then went on to say this: “The honest way to deal with the issue of emergency housing is to build more social houses. And that's the very thing the Government has pulled back on.”

Wrong. There is another way that you can deal with the problem of an increase in demand for social housing, that's to grow an economy to get people into well paid jobs.

Not everybody wants to be at the mercy of a failed social housing system, do they?

Who are we to believe when it comes to kids in motels?
It’s undeniably a disaster. At its worst, we had 4000 kids living in motels and emergency accommodation in New Zealand.
And the last lot who said it was a complex problem that required complex solutions, they said it would take time, and we sort of bought that argument because it does seem incredibly complex.
And then yesterday, the Government comes along and claims to have cut the number of households living in emergency housing by a third in six months.
What’s more, they said in Auckland, they’ve almost halved the number of people living in emergency housing in three months.
How can you halve the number of people in emergency housing in three months?
Does that make sense to you? In Christchurch, it's gone from 285 to 183 in three months.
They said they’d used intensive work to cut the numbers.
I don’t know whether I’m just cynical but, do you believe that? Or do you think there’s some trick, some fudging of the numbers here or the categories that they're using, something like that.
If all we needed was a bit of intensive work, surely we could have cut through that long waiting list a lot earlier.
Kieran McAnulty on Three News last night had a crack at the Government.
“They're both claiming credit for something they didn't do and they're also crying about something when they've made it harder for people to access it.”
He then went on to say this: “The honest way to deal with the issue of emergency housing is to build more social houses. And that's the very thing the Government has pulled back on.”
Wrong. There is another way that you can deal with the problem of an increase in demand for social housing, that's to grow an economy to get people into well paid jobs.
Not everybody wants to be at the mercy of a failed social housing system, do they?

Ryan Bridge: Not everybody wants to be at the mercy of a failed social housing system

By Kris Shannon in Paris

Ellesse Andrews has confirmed what this week already seemed clear – she is the world’s fastest woman on two wheels.

The Kiwi claimed a second gold medal on the final day of the Paris Olympics, her victory in the individual sprint even more commanding than an earlier triumph in the keirin.

Andrews won all nine sprint races she contested inside Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. The 24-year-old eliminated the reigning Olympic champion, two former world champions and a rider who last year proved superior in the discipline.

And Andrews accomplished it all with a level of ease rarely seen at the top level.

That’s not to suggest there was anything simple about her achievements. But right now, Andrews is simply too fast, too strong and too self-assured to be beaten.

That was the case in the keirin final earlier in the week, when Andrews led from start to finish and was never seriously threatened by any potential attack. The same was true in the individual sprint, whether riding from the front or recovering a deficit depending on her starting position.

The two gold medals added to a silver won in the team sprint and left Andrews in elite Kiwi company. Only paddlers Lisa Carrington (three golds in 2021 and 2024) and Paul MacDonald (three golds in 1984) have recorded better medal hauls at a single Games.

It also meant New Zealand would finish the Paris Olympics with 10 gold medals, after a record-setting penultimate day saw the team surpass the previous best of eight.

With age on her side and considering her progression in the last 12 months alone, it’s safe to assume Andrews will return to the podium in four years’ time.

In today’s final she swept aside Lea Friedrich, a rider who beat Andrews 2-0 in the sprint semifinals at last year’s world championships.

Following the keirin final, coach and father Jon Andrews said he had expected a greater challenge from Friedrich in that event, after the German had been eliminated in a semifinal won by the Kiwi. It came a few days later but didn’t last for long.



Gold medalist Ellesse Andrews celebrates her win in the sprint. Photo / Getty Images 

There was a brief moment in race one when it appeared Friedrich held the advantage. After the bell, she came around the bend high, and with a boost from the bank looked to be erasing the lead.

Then Andrews rose from her seat, powered through the back straight and the race was over.

The second was barely a contest. Starting behind her opponent, Andrews easily executed the manoeuvre attempted earlier by Friedrich, speeding clear as the German conceded defeat.

Andrews glanced once over her shoulder, saw clear track and was able to raise one arm in celebration, the crowd rising to salute a new queen of the velodrome.

Friedrich had set a new world record in qualifying, a mark Andrews previously lowered. But her coach said his rider was a different proposition when racing, and so it proved

Andrews progressed to the final with seven wins from seven, eliminating Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell in the 1/8 finals before sweeping former world champions Emma Hinze in the quarters and Emma Finucane in the semis.

That brought more revenge for being beaten by Finucane and Britain in the team sprint final, the only time in Paris that Andrews has been conquered.

Friedrich, meanwhile, needed a third ride to reach the final, as Andrews barely watched from her stationary bike. But no extra energy would have helped the German.

Andrews, as she has been all week, was unbeatable.

Kris Shannon has been a sport journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald.

By Kris Shannon in Paris
Ellesse Andrews has confirmed what this week already seemed clear – she is the world’s fastest woman on two wheels.
The Kiwi claimed a second gold medal on the final day of the Paris Olympics, her victory in the individual sprint even more commanding than an earlier triumph in the keirin.
Andrews won all nine sprint races she contested inside Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. The 24-year-old eliminated the reigning Olympic champion, two former world champions and a rider who last year proved superior in the discipline.
And Andrews accomplished it all with a level of ease rarely seen at the top level.
That’s not to suggest there was anything simple about her achievements. But right now, Andrews is simply too fast, too strong and too self-assured to be beaten.
That was the case in the keirin final earlier in the week, when Andrews led from start to finish and was never seriously threatened by any potential attack. The same was true in the individual sprint, whether riding from the front or recovering a deficit depending on her starting position.
The two gold medals added to a silver won in the team sprint and left Andrews in elite Kiwi company. Only paddlers Lisa Carrington (three golds in 2021 and 2024) and Paul MacDonald (three golds in 1984) have recorded better medal hauls at a single Games.
It also meant New Zealand would finish the Paris Olympics with 10 gold medals, after a record-setting penultimate day saw the team surpass the previous best of eight.
With age on her side and considering her progression in the last 12 months alone, it’s safe to assume Andrews will return to the podium in four years’ time.
In today’s final she swept aside Lea Friedrich, a rider who beat Andrews 2-0 in the sprint semifinals at last year’s world championships.
Following the keirin final, coach and father Jon Andrews said he had expected a greater challenge from Friedrich in that event, after the German had been eliminated in a semifinal won by the Kiwi. It came a few days later but didn’t last for long.

Gold medalist Ellesse Andrews celebrates her win in the sprint. Photo / Getty Images 
There was a brief moment in race one when it appeared Friedrich held the advantage. After the bell, she came around the bend high, and with a boost from the bank looked to be erasing the lead.
Then Andrews rose from her seat, powered through the back straight and the race was over.
The second was barely a contest. Starting behind her opponent, Andrews easily executed the manoeuvre attempted earlier by Friedrich, speeding clear as the German conceded defeat.
Andrews glanced once over her shoulder, saw clear track and was able to raise one arm in celebration, the crowd rising to salute a new queen of the velodrome.
Friedrich had set a new world record in qualifying, a mark Andrews previously lowered. But her coach said his rider was a different proposition when racing, and so it proved
Andrews progressed to the final with seven wins from seven, eliminating Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell in the 1/8 finals before sweeping former world champions Emma Hinze in the quarters and Emma Finucane in the semis.
That brought more revenge for being beaten by Finucane and Britain in the team sprint final, the only time in Paris that Andrews has been conquered.
Friedrich, meanwhile, needed a third ride to reach the final, as Andrews barely watched from her stationary bike. But no extra energy would have helped the German.
Andrews, as she has been all week, was unbeatable.
Kris Shannon has been a sport journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald.

Nigel Avery: New Zealand Chef de Mission says about 20 percent of New Zealand Olympians in Paris have won a medal

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