KEY POINTS:
Sarah Ulmer believes these could be New Zealand's best Olympic Games, if potential is matched by performance.
The Athens Games 3000m individual pursuit gold medallist is in Beijing as a mentor to the athletes.
The positive attitude she always exuded when she was on her bike remains intact, even though her job in Beijing is as a support to those pursuing their Olympic dreams.
"I think four years on from Athens, looking at the whole team, New Zealand sport is in really good shape," Ulmer said.
"The potential for us across a huge variety of sports is really exciting. Obviously putting that on the court, or pitch, or track on the day is what athletes are up against now, which is the exciting part.
"But as a sporting nation we've never had more potential than we have this year."
In terms of medals won, Seoul in 1988 produced New Zealand's best haul. That year 13 medals were won, including golds to Mark Todd in the individual three-day event, boardsailor Bruce Kendall and paddlers Ian Ferguson and Paul McDonald in the K1 500m.
There were also two silver and eight bronze, topping the 11 medals won at Los Angeles in 1984 - spearheaded by the supreme canoeing quartet of Ferguson, McDonald, Alan Thompson and Grant Bramwell - although that was one of the boycotted Games, when the Russian-aligned nations failed to show in a tit-for-tat for the United States-led sidestep of Moscow in 1980.
Ulmer knows a bit about what is required for Olympic success. Timing is everything and she points out that over the past 18 months New Zealand have had athletes position themselves for a serious tilt at Games glory.
"You know when you come to an Olympics you've got to be in some form, you've got to know you're in the bubble to perform," she said.
"The number of athletes in that bubble is by far more than we've ever had."
Athletes such as shot putter Valerie Vili, triathletes Bevan Docherty and Sam Warriner, BMX rider Sarah Walker, boardsailor Tom Ashley, swimmer Moss Burmester and the high-performing rowing squad are all either world champions or ranked among the top handful going into their competition.
Chef de mission Dave Currie says that despite all the work put in there are no guarantees, even though hopes will be high for the athletes who have performed strongly in the past year.
"All those who have performed well are in the frame," he said.
"Does that mean they'll all medal? No, it probably doesn't, but if you look prior to Athens the number in that frame is significantly higher than for Athens. Now we've got to wait and see what the conversion rate might look like." Currie believes eclipsing the Seoul mark is a possibility, but no more than that.
And he's pleased governing funding agency Sparc has not made a prediction on the medal swag as they did with an embarrassing outcome at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games two years ago.
"I think that's a more sensible approach. What they've done is focused on those athletes who've put themselves in the frame."
Ulmer, attending her first Games in a non-participant role since 1992, admitted to being blown away now that she's had a good look at what goes on behind the scenes at a Games.
"The Olympics are all about realising your potential and performing to that on the day that it matters," said Ulmer. "It's all about pressure and that's the beauty of it."
* Cyclist Catherine Cheatley has been added as a late inclusion for the women's road race, joining fellow New Zealander Joanne Kiesanowski. Cheatley was picked to ride in the points race on the track, but will start in the road race too after a rider from another country withdrew.
