Games cloak highlights pride in cultural heritage

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Harold Nelson, the oldest surviving New Zealand flagbearer at an Olympic Games, began a new tradition last night.

The 81-year-old was presented with a cloak of rare and treasured feathers which will be worn only by New Zealand captains when they lead the team in the opening ceremony march.

Mr Nelson, who competed in the 1948 Olympics in London, received the cloak on behalf of the New Zealand Olympic Committee from the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, reviving a flood of memories for the former runner.

"I was so proud parading in front of the King and Queen.

"The applause of the crowd was overwhelming," he said of the day he led the team of seven athletes and two officials.

Unfortunately for Mr Nelson, his specialist event, the 10,000m, was held in the middle of a London heatwave.

His coach believed athletes should dry out before races, so a naive Mr Nelson was dehydrated at the startline.

During the race he suffered badly under the hot pace set by Olympic legend Emil Zatopek.

His disappointment at failing to finish was tempered by a gold medal for the six mile at the Empire Games two years later.

After modelling the cloak at a function in Wellington last night, Mr Nelson said he looked forward to seeing it worn officially for the first time in Athens on August 13. The flagbearer will not be announced until the day before the ceremony.

The idea of adorning the flag-bearer in the kakahu (cloak) sprang from chef de mission Dave Currie's desire for the team to display a strong sense of cultural identity in Greece.

"I want people to be strong and secure in their own culture because we are going into a culture that is ancient and steeped in tradition," said Mr Currie.

Last night's function was held on Olympic Day, which marks the day in 1894 when Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin announced his intention to revive the ancient Olympic Games and their traditional values.

To mark the day, the John L. Davies Memorial Scholarship was launched in honour of the 1964 bronze medallist and former NZOC president who died last year.

Under the scholarship, one athlete each year will be able to visit Olympia as part of a programme to develop Olympic ideals.