The 199-strong Olympic team had a day to remember in Rio, winning five medals and sending the Kiwi medal tally to 15, the most won by New Zealand at an Olympics.
The previous best tally was 13 medals at Seoul in 1988 and London in 2012. Leading the medal charge was the sailing team, which bagged three.
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, the flag bearers for New Zealand at the opening ceremony, confirmed their gold medal win by taking the final race in the men’s 49ers.
Backing them up were the 470 women’s crew of Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, who won silver, despite being disqualified from two earlier races.
In the women’s 49er competition, Alex Maloney and Molly Meech grabbed a silver medal after finishing second in the final race.
Also on the water, kayaker Lisa Carrington picked up a bronze in the K1 500m.
The fifth medal of the day was won by shot putter Tom Walsh, who became the first New Zealand man to win an Olympic medal in a field event.
Despite the medal rush, New Zealand slipped down the medal table one place to 17th.
The goal set by High Performance Sport New Zealand had been 14 medals.