Mike Stanley

Born on 6 November 1957 in Lower Hutt. Mike took up the sport of rowing and represented New Zealand from 1976 until 1984.

He was a member of the rowing eight which came fourth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He was also part of the rowing eight which won back-to-back world championship gold medals, in 1982 and 1983.

Mike was selected for the New Zealand men’s coxed four to race at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games but did not get to compete because of the boycott. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

From 1994 to 2003 Mike was Chief Executive of Rowing New Zealand (RNZ). In 2003, he became Chief Executive of the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health but he kept his links to Rowing NZ as a member of its board; a role he held until 2009.

Mike was elected to the Board of the New Zealand Olympic Committee in 2005 and took over the position of President in 2009.