7 Apr 2016

Record NZ Olympic medal haul forecast

10:30 am on 7 April 2016

New Zealand is forecast to win an unprecedented 23 medals at the Rio Olympic Games in August.

Sports forecasting company Infostrada is predicting New Zealand will win 23 medals, eleven of them gold.

That total would better New Zealand's previous best by ten medals.

At London four years ago the New Zealand team enjoyed a record equalling 13 medals.

New Zealand won six gold medals at the London Olympics in 2012

New Zealand won six gold medals at the London Olympics in 2012. Photo: Supplied

New Zealand are forecast to finish ninth on the medal table - with eleven gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.

Rowing is the main provider of medals eight forecast including three gold - Eric Murray and Hamish Bond in the men's pair, Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane in the women's double scull and Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie in the lightweight double.

Sprint canoeist Lisa Carrington is expected to win two gold medal while shot putter Tom Walsh, the men's track cycling team, golfer Lydia Ko, the men's and women's rugby sevens teams and sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are also predicted to win gold.

New Zealand's Lisa Carrington in action at the Canoe World Cup.

Lisa Carrington Photo: PHOTOSPORT

High Performance Sport New Zealand has targeted 14 medals or more in Rio.

A year out from Games HPSNZ chief executive Alex Baumann said "London was an incredibly successful Games for New Zealand. We won 13 medals including six gold at the Olympics and 17 medals including six gold at the Paralympic Games,"

"We want the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to be New Zealand's most successful Games ever, which we'll do if we reach our targets," he said.

The latest Virtual Medal Table forecasts a total of 84 National Olympic Committee's will win an Olympic medal.

This would be the third most after the 86 eight years ago in Beijing and the 85 in London in 2012.

Singapore, Dominican Republic and Afghanistan are among the NOCs which succeeded in bringing home silverware from the last two Olympics, but are currently not predicted to finish on the podium in Rio de Janeiro.

In Rio, two NOCs are projected to earn their first ever Olympic medals.

Fiji is predicted to win its first Olympic medal with Infostrada forecasting they will finish second the men's rugby sevens.

The second NOC expected to win its first Olympic medal is Kosovo. In Rio, it will participate independently at the Olympic Games for the first time. The flag bearer for Kosovo at Rio 2016, judoka Maljinda Kelmendi, is projected to win gold medal in the women's 52kg. She has already won two world titles in this event, in 2013 and 2014.

The United States is forecast to top the medal tally with 99, including 43 gold.

China with 82 in total and 31 gold will finish second while Russia is predicted to round out the top three witth 63 medals all up including 22 gold.

Only two nations, Britain and France, have won medals at all previous Olympic Games.

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