Today we congratulate Barbara Kendall
Barbara, the five-time Olympian, four-time World Champion, 20- time National Champion, four time New Zealand sportswoman of the year and International Sailing Federation Hall of Fame recipient, was acknowledged last night at the Halberg Awards when she was inducted into the NZ Sports Hall of Fame and presented with the Leadership Award.
Barbara stood on all three tiers of the podium at the Olympic Games - gold in Barcelona 1992, silver at Atlanta 1996 and bronze at Sydney 2000. She also competed in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, finishing 5thand 8th respectively.
After 24 years at the top of her sport, she retired from boardsailing in May 2010.
Since then she has turned her boundless energy and love for sport to the growth and development of athletes and the promotion of the wider Olympic movement. First with a place on New Zealand Olympic Committees athletes commission she was then was appointed in 2005 to the International Olympic Committee, as the Oceania athletes representative. In 2011 she was elected an IOC member in took a place on the IOC Athletes Commission, Woman and Sport Commission and Sport and the Environment Commission.
She has been acknowledged for outstanding success on the field of play. In addition to her Olympic medals Barbara was crowned Sportswoman of the Year at the Halberg Awards in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. She won the Lonsdale Cup in 1999.
Being inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame and receiving the prestigious Leadership Awards highlight Barbaras commitment to contributing to sport long after competition ends.
Receiving her awards, Barbara urged athletes to continue to give back to sport even after the last race had been run. Its wonderful to be an athlete but when the time comes, if you put as much into life outside of being an athlete as you did in training and competing it can be incredibly rewarding and just as enjoyable. Mentoring athletes, seeing them grow in their careers - its just such a buzz.