Four Kiwis who disregarded the odds
New Zealand has won more than 110 Olympic medals, but which were the biggest surprises?
Champion (gold, 1912), competing for Australasia, and Jean Hurring (bronze, 1952) had visited the podium.
In Seoul, Paul Kingsman was not expected to challenge that statistic, ranked 20th in the world in the 200m backstroke that year.
From a field of 44 competitors, Kingsman did well to make the final, recording the seventhfastest time. The decider was a battle of the giants, major nations such as the Soviet Union (two), East Germany (two), West Germany, United States and Brazil represented.
But the 21yearold Aucklander was not overawed and had a solid race plan, aiming for 2min flat.
From a difficult spot in lane one, Kingsman managed the performance of his life. He was among a cluster of swimmers behind the leading trio in the first 100m of the race, before accelerating in the second half.
In a thrilling final push, he overhauled former world recordholder and 1987 European champion Sergei Zabolotnov to claim the bronze.
The margin was just 0.04sec and Kingsman's time of 2min 48sec stood as a Commonwealth record for 20 years.
There was plenty of focus on Pakistan, which had reached the previous five Olympic finals (winning two) and the Netherlands, which finished fourth in 1972.
Defending Olympic champion West Germany had a strong squad, as did Spain, while 1975 World Cup winner India, which had claimed 10 Olympic medals, including seven gold, was a perennial contender.
New Zealand had an experienced team, with several Olympic veterans from the previous two Games but had only managed seventh at the 1975 World Cup, and most pundits viewed Australia as the threat from this part of the world.
New Zealand was in the group of death with Pakistan, West Germany, European champion Spain and Belgium.
In pool play, it managed 11 draws with the Germans and Spanish, beat Belgium 21 and lost to Pakistan 52.
That set up a playoff with Spain in which a Ramesh Patel goal proved the difference after three periods of extra time. In the subsequent semifinal, New Zealand upset the Netherlands 21, in another triple overtime contest.
On the other side of the draw, Australia had beaten Pakistan and was favoured for the final, bringing cases of Champagne to the stadium.
But the Black Sticks prevailed in an epic encounter, a Tony Ineson penalty strike, backed up by a couple of memorable saves by goalkeeper Trevor Manning, sealing the ultimate prize.
Moller's selection for the 1992 Games had been widely questioned. Noone doubted her pedigree as she had successes on the road and track dating back to the late 1970s.
She had been a pioneer in the women's marathon, and won numerous big races in the early 1980s, including the 1984 Boston Marathon.
But Moller had struggled at the 1988 Olympics, finishing 33rd, after an impressive fifth placing at the Los Angeles Games four years earlier.
She was 37 when the Barcelona Games rolled around, with the general view that her best days were behind her.
But Moller had prepared well, using gruelling practice runs in the midday sun and uphill sprints to replicate what she would face in Spain, with the notorious summer heat and humidity and an extended
4800m climb near the finish.
She had also been energised by her mentor Arthur Lydiard, who reminded her that 90% of athletes do not perform at their best in the Olympics, so she only had to beat the other 10%.
Although the race started at 6.30pm, conditions were brutal, temperatures on the road topping 40degC.
Russian Valentina Yegorova edged Japanese Yuko Arimori for the gold, but the Kiwi was well ahead of the rest of the pack, almost 2min 30sec faster than the fourthplace finisher.
Among the 47strong field, Moller had beaten many of the prerace favourites, including reigning world champion Wanda Panfil, 1988 Olympic silver medallist Lisa Ondieki and Katrin Dorre, who claimed medals at the 1991 world championships and the 1988 Olympics.