Winter Olympics: Biathlete first to fly NZ flag at Games

New Zealand have their first Olympic biathlon representative, Sarah Murphy yesterday being confirmed as the 16th and final member of the squad for the Vancouver Winter Games next month.

Murphy, 21, a Canadian-New Zealand athlete, had a nail-biting wait to get her spot finalised.

She needed the New Zealand Olympic Committee to receive a quota spot in the field to get her place.

The NZOC had previously said it would support Murphy, provided the place came through from the sport's international federation.

Biathlon comprises cross-country skiing and shooting.

"I love the idea of being the first competitor to represent New Zealand in the biathlon and I want to help develop the sport in New Zealand," Murphy said yesterday.

The New Zealand team is the largest sent to a Winter Games and includes its biggest snowboarding representation - five - first male cross country skier, and first free skier, Mitchey Greig, who will contest the skier cross discipline.

SILVER FERN AT THE WINTER OLYMPICS
* Alpine: Tim Cafe (Queenstown), Ben Griffin (Ohakune).
* Biathlon: Sarah Murphy (Banff and Wanaka).
* Cross-country: Ben Koons (Dunedin), Katie Calder (Tauranga).
* Free skiing: Mitchey Greig (Queenstown).
* Skeleton: Tionette Stoddard (Dunedin), Ben Sandford (Rotorua), Iain Roberts (Edinburgh-based).
* Skating: Blake Skjellerup (Christchurch), Shane Dobbin (Palmerston North).
* Snowboarding: Juliane Bray (Wanaka), Kendall Brown (Wanaka), Rebecca Sinclair (Wanaka), James Hamilton (North Shore), Mitch Brown (Dunedin).