Kate Thompson had always wanted to go to the Olympic Games as an athlete.
She was heavily involved in swimming and triathlon but didn’t quite get to the pinnacle of representing her country in the major international multisport event.
But she’s about to go to the Paris Olympics and will be a key part of the New Zealand team albeit not in a way she’d ever expected.
Thompson, who is head of physical education and health at Kāpiti College, has been selected as the person who will wear the Goldie mascot outfit.
The New Zealand Olympic Team held a social media competition, called Goldie’s Passport to Paris, which invited people over the age of 16 to show them why they’d be a good mascot.
Kate Thompson will transform into the New Zealand Olympic Team's mascot Goldie at the Paris Olympics. Photo / David Haxton
When Thompson heard about the competition, she encouraged college students to enter as she felt there were “so many cool students that would fit this role”.
But there wasn’t the uptake, and a day before entries closed, Thompson said to her teaching colleague Emily Periam, that at least something should be filmed.
“I took my class [9DS], which has so much energy and enthusiasm, into the gym and told them I needed their help.”
Thompson got into a mascot-like outfit and interacted with the students in a series of upbeat scenes.
“We chucked together some videos, which Emily took, and then film and design teacher Isaac Brodie did all the editing and made it pretty cool.
One of the sports captains, Mckaela Woodward, uploaded the video to Instagram, and the wait began, with Thompson’s fingers crossed.
“Isaac’s video was 100 times better than I ever expected but also it was going to be a long shot as you could see all the other awesome entries coming in via the hashtag.”
Kate Thompson, in a green top, was overwhelmed to become the person behind the official Goldie mascot at the Paris Olympics.
Thompson got an email from the team saying the competition was “very close” and more time was needed to make a decision.
But the email was a ruse because team personnel were planning to come to the college and surprise her with the win.
Periam knew and helped orchestrate the surprise which was held in the college’s Te Raukura ki Kāpiti performing arts centre.
“I was completely overwhelmed and emotional,” Thompson said.
“It almost felt like a dream.
“I also feel that it’s not just about me – it’s the college too.
Kate Thompson will bring a lot of energy to her role as Goldie.
“One of our values is tōpūtanga (unity) which is a big part of what we stand for.”
She can take a plus-one to the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and has chosen Periam who will help create video content, accompany Thompson to various functions, athlete interactions, and more.
Thompson had “always wanted to be an Olympic athlete but that didn’t work out”.
