But for every feel-good story, there are plenty of hard-luck stories.
Even worse, there are tragic and terrible stories, of athletes who found the pressure of top-level sport too much to bear, who were subject to exploitation or who felt the need to cheat as a way to maintain their drive to be among the elite.
All too often sports organisations and governing bodies focus on the top echelon of performers. At best they might omit their duty of care to the lesser lights, sometimes they might actually neglect them. At worst, they might fail them.
The death of cyclist Olivia Podmore was the final straw for many: the call for greater emphasis on the welfare of our top athletes became deafening.
Parliament swung into action this week with a Bill which aims to improve athlete welfare and at the same time strengthen the work being done by Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ).
In that respect the timing could not have been more coincidental: the Bill made the top of the order paper just after news broke of New Zealand runner Zane Robertson falling foul of doping rules, demonstrating that these were real challenges administrators have to deal with.
The main feature of the proposed law change is the establishment of an Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission, an independent Crown entity with a broad remit to address both athlete welfare and doping issues, as well as establish frameworks concerning betting, corruption and match-fixing.
The commission will develop integrity codes but sports can opt in — or out — of them.
"This approach is appropriate, as many sport and recreation organisations are small volunteer-run organisations with limited capacity," the Bill’s legislative statement said.
"The commission will provide advice, guidance and education to raise the capability of organisations and support them to adopt and comply with integrity codes."
The Bill also proposes disestablishing DFSNZ, not due to any concerns with its work but rather to ensure that integrity issues — which often cross over into the doping sphere — are considered alongside each other by the new commission, which would be responsible for implementing the World Anti-Doping Code.
There have been few more dedicated sport and recreation ministers than South Dunedin’s own Grant Robertson: he would rush to watch the kicking of a can, let alone a football.
The Bill he presented on Tuesday wrapped up two years’ endeavour by a variety of working groups.
"Overall, I believe that this Bill does respond to what we have heard time and time again from athletes," he said.
"That they want their wellbeing to be upheld, that they need to be comfortable, that they are safe when they are involved in sport and recreation and that they are involved in a fair sport and recreation system."
Running Mr Robertson a close second as a sports obsessive is his National sport and recreation counterpart Michael Woodhouse, who has refereed senior rugby for quarter of a century and still rolls out for the parliamentary rugby team.
Fresh from a weekend on the couch watching Formula One, the Warriors and the Highlanders, Mr Woodhouse added National’s heft to the legislative scrum, albeit with a couple of questions to be considered by the select committee.
Firstly, the cost of the entity needed to be clarified, as did the voluntary nature of the integrity codes, Mr Woodhouse said.
"I think that if this is important, then there needs to be some expectation that codes, particularly at the pre-elite and elite level, do comply with them. So I think that’s something that the committee can interrogate."
Although not so celebrated for her sporting enthusiasm as her Dunedin colleagues, Labour list MP Rachel Brooking took her turn to drive the Bill up a few metres.
"A lot of children and young people grow up in sports ... it’s those younger people that go on to become elite athletes. And this really matters for them; we don’t want our young people being bullied."
How to have fun
Ms Brooking, the chairwoman of the finance and expenditure committee, used the opportunity afforded to her by Tuesday’s annual review debate on the finance portfolio to demonstrate the kind of high-octane life politicians lead.
"I would very much like to thank the staff who do these report backs to Parliament," she said.
"If anybody is spending their Tuesday afternoon watching the House, then I would very much — if you’re ever interested in what any different agency does — go and have a look at the select committee’s annual report back on them."
One wonders just how sincere Chloe Swarbrick’s interjection — "Great read" — actually was.
And it’s goodbye from me
Wednesday’s main event was Jacinda Ardern’s valedictory, and Waitaki National MP Jacqui Dean drew the short straw of having her Bill turn up on the order paper just as the crowd started to assemble.
"A lot of our former esteemed MPs and ministers are here. I see party leaders are here. The place is buzzing with excitement, and none of it is for me," Mrs Dean lamented.
She had greater cause for dismay when the House eventually voted down her Increased Penalties for Breach of Biosecurity Bill.
Mrs Dean will have her own valedictory, and her own crowd, in a few months time.
Back for more
The Opportunities Party (Top) has confirmed Ben Peters will again fly its flag in Dunedin.
Dr Peters, a biochemist, did outstandingly well in 2020 to finish fourth, behind runaway winner David Clark, in one of Top’s best electorate performances.
This time he will be up against Mr Woodhouse and Ms Brooking — who to no-one’s surprise is Labour’s nominee for Dunedin — and first-time Green candidate Francisco Hernandez, and will be hoping there is room for improvement.
Top harbours high hopes of bringing in more MPs on leader Raf Manji’s coat tails should he win Ilam, so how Dr Peters fares in garnering party votes in the South could be of unexpected importance come October 14.
