Punching well above their weight, New Zealand Olympians celebrate outstanding medal count in Paris

New Zealand's record-breaking Olympic performance in Paris, with 20 medals, including 10 golds, celebrated despite map snub.

The omission of New Zealand from the world map which was a centerpiece of the Paris Olympics closing ceremony might have seemed a particular snub to the nation of 5 million which finished 11th on the medal table with 10 golds and 20 medals overall.

It was explained the map represented the five inhabited continents and that Australia stood in for Oceania. That in itself might have irritated New Zealanders for whom Australia is the most bitter of sporting rivals.

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The Parisian omission had a particular sting because New Zealand had just produced its best-ever Olympic performance. Measured on gold medals alone, New Zealand finished ahead of Canada and Spain, nations many times its size.

On a per-capita basis, New Zealand won one gold medal for every 533,890 people or one medal of any color for every 258,000 people. That placed it third on the per-capital medal table behind Dominica and St. Lucia which both won one gold medal. Dominica has a population of about 67,000 and St. Lucia around 184,000.

Of the 20 medals New Zealand won in Paris, 14 — including eight golds — were won by women or women’s teams.

In a letter to New Zealanders from Buckingham Palace, British monarch King Charles commended the Kiwi performances.