KEY POINTS:
1 Yvette Williams (later Corbett)
Yvette Williams was the wonder of her sporting age after becoming the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Williams, who grew up in Dunedin, is recalled naturally for her dramatic long jump gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and for her world record leap of 6.29m (20ft 7 inches) at Gisborne in 1954. But she was a versatile athlete who won Empire Games gold medals in the long jump (1950 and 1954), shot put (1954) and discus (1954), a silver in the javelin (1950) and made the 80m hurdles final. Eventually she won 21 national titles spread over five disciplines. Williams was named Sportsman of the Year twice and was voted Athlete of the Decade for the 1950s. In 1990 she was inducted into the New Zealand Hall of Fame and in 2000 she was voted Otago Sportsperson of the Century.
2 Dame Susan Devoy
Susan Devoy was one of the stand-out sporting heroes throughout the 1980s and early 1990s and widely regarded as the greatest women's squash player of all time. After turning professional at the age of 17, Devoy's first World Open title came in 1985, with a subsequent win in 1987. Further World Open titles came in 1990 and 1992. For most of her career, the World Open was held biannually, a fact that stopped Devoy potentially doubling her tally. She did, however, win the coveted British Open eight times.
In 1992, the year of her retirement, she was the Australian, British, French, Hong Kong, Irish, New Zealand, Scottish, Swedish and World squash champion.
3 Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell
The Cambridge twins this year joined an elite group of Olympic athletes after defending their Olympic crown. The Evers-Swindells won the Olympic double sculls crown after backing up their gold medal win in Athens with another podium-topping performance in Beijing. The wins were achieved in contrasting fashion. In 2004, having claimed back to back world titles in the years preceding the Games, the twins were hot favourites for the gold medal. This time though, they endured 18 months of injury and hashed results in the build-up to Beijing that left many critics questioning their competitive credibility. With their confidence shattered, the twins arrived in Beijing simply seeking respectability. But what unfolded in the women's doubles sculls final read like something from a Disney script with the twins, who looked down and out at the 1500m mark, producing a late rally to pip the Germany on the finish line. The eventual winning margin was one hundreth of a second.
4 Valerie Vili
In a few short years Vili has gone from prodigious talent to world beater and Olympic champion. At the age of just 23, Vili has stamped her mark in the women's shot-put and is the current World, Olympic and Commonwealth champion. Vili's gold medal at the world champs in Osaka last year was impressive, but it was the South Auckland giant's efforts in Beijing last month that signified her true coming of age. With the weight of public expectation immense, Vili responded by stepping up to the plate and blowing her competitors out of the water with her opening throw. Her gold medal performance was New Zealand's first in a blue riband event since John Walker 32 years ago.
5 Sarah Ulmer
Sarah Ulmer rode her way into New Zealand sporting history at the 2004 Olympic Games when she blazed around the velodrome to claim New Zealand's first and only cycling gold medal. Ulmer was in a class of her own in Athens, setting world records through each stage of qualifying in the 3000m individual pursuit. But she saved her best for last, shaving another two seconds off the world mark to claim gold. When she left Athens at the end of the games, Ulmer held the world title, the Olympic title, the Olympic and world records, the Commonwealth title and the Commonwealth record for the 3000m individual pursuit.
6 Erin Baker
For years Erin Baker dominated the Olympic distance and Ironman Triathlon circuit and has been described by many as the greatest female triathlete that ever lived. She was known for her outstanding performances in triathlon disciplines during the 1980s and won many World Titles, World Championships and Iron Man titles. In an era when it was still widely believed women were not cut out for endurance sport, Baker was a key figure in shattering those myths. Renowned for her feisty nature, Baker, who is now a Christchurch City Councillor, was also a strong campaigner for equal prize money in the sport.
7 Barbara Kendall
Forty years after Yvette Williams became the first New Zealand women to win a gold medal, Barbara Kendall became the second, topping the podium at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Since then she has been one of the dominant forces in women's boardsailing, winning silver in Atlanta and bronze in Sydney and picking up countless world titles over that time. Now 40 and having just competed at her fifth Olympics, Kendall's longevity is testament to what a true champion she is.
8 Ruia Morrison
In a sport where New Zealand has had few heroes, Ruia Morrison stands out as one of our greatest tennis players of all time. In 1957 Morrison became the first Maori to compete at Wimbledon, and later reached the quarter-finals at the all-England club in 1958, 1959 and 1960. At the peak of her career, Morrison, of Te Arawa descent, was ranked ninth in the world. One of New Zealand's best-known players abroad, Morrison also dominated the national scene, winning numerous singles and doubles national titles from 1955 to 1965.
9 Linda Jones
Linda Jones paved the way for female jockeys not only in New Zealand, but around the world. In 1976 Jones was the first woman to apply for an apprentice jockey's licence. She was refused, on the grounds that she was "too old, married and not strong enough". But Jones didn't give up, and a couple of years later the New Zealand Racing Conference finally approved the licensing of female jockeys. Jones became a household name throughout her own country and as success mounted, her fame spread to Australia and even to Europe. Jones had her first professional ride on August 12, 1978. In a sensational first season as an apprentice, she rode over 50 winners and achieved many firsts including: becoming the first women in the southern hemisphere to ride four winners in a day; the first woman to ride a winner at Ellerslie or Trentham, the first to compete in the Auckland, Sydney or Wellington Cups; the first woman to ride a Derby winner (Holy Toledo in the Wellington Derby).
10 Lorraine Moller
Lorraine Moller is one of New Zealand's greatest women distance runners and was an inspiration for a generation of New Zealand women's athletes. Moller won bronze medals over the 1500m and 3000m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, but it was as a marathon runner she really shone. Moller made her marathon debut in 1979 and reeled off eight consecutive victories and nine from her first 10 starts. She was a driving force behind the women's marathon being included as an Olympic event in 1984. She went on to become the only women to compete in the first four Olympic marathons, claiming bronze in Barcelona in 1992. Disagree? Send your list to supersport@nzherald.co.nz.
