The Haka has made its subzero, Winter Olympics debut.
After becoming the first male gold-medal winner in New Zealand's Winter Olympic history, halfpipe skier Nico Porteous was met with a surprise when his team performed the Haka to commemorate his victory.
Often seen before international rugby matches, it's quite normal for the ceremonial Māori dance to freeze its spectators in their tracks. But it got some help on the final day of competition at the Genting Snow Park, where temperatures reportedly fell below zero.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, Porteous became the youngest medalist in New Zealand's entire Olympic history with his bronze in the freeski halfpipe at 16 years (and 91 days) old. Four years later, Porteous captured gold in the same event in what is now New Zealand's most successful Winter Games on record.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Porteous told Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt. “Four years ago, if you told me this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed you. … We’re a small, humble little country. We stick to our roots, we work hard and we have amazing facilities to train on. I’d say that’s what makes us who we are.”
In fact, New Zealand captured as many medals in these Winter Games (three) as it had in its history coming into Beijing. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won first the country's ever Winter gold two weeks ago with women's slopestyle, then followed up with a silver in women's big air.
Porteous's gold only adds to the legacy built by Kiwi alpine skier Annelise Coberger, who became the first person representing a nation in the Southern Hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics with her silver in the slalom at the 1992 Albertville Games.
