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Seven years on from the greatest day in New Zealands Olympic history, Nathan Twaddle is still terribly proud to be part of the gang that made Super Saturday so unforgettable.

In one electric day Saturday, August 16, 2008 - New Zealand claimed five medals at the Beijing Olympics, with the assistance of oars, a bike and a heavy metal ball. Collected in the space of just four hours, the triumphant haul two golds, one silver and two bronze - eclipsed the day at the 1988 Seoul games when New Zealand won four bronze.

Having my name associated with the other athletes who succeeded on Super Saturday makes me terribly proud, says Twaddle, who snatched bronze in the mens pair with George Bridgwater on the Shunyi rowing course. My enduring memory is a sense of achievement and completion; and a little bit of numbness, given how long wed been striving for it.

Twaddle and Bridgewaters medal was the third on that stunning Chinese summers day. It began with Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell trying to defend their 2004 crown in the womens double sculls. Although the Hawkes Bay twins lined up as total underdogs, they stole the gold right from under the bow of the German crew in a breath-taking 0.01s victory.  It was only the fourth time that New Zealand athletes had successfully defended their Olympic titles. The sisters, who retired from rowing later that year, and are now both married with young families and enjoying the rural lifestyle of Cromwell in Central Otago.

We were so happy to see Georgie and Caroline defend their gold, given the rough build-up theyd had, Twaddle recalls. Half an hour before Twaddle and Bridgewater were to race, they watched team-mate Mah Drysdale in the mens single sculls final give arguably the most valiant performance of the day.

All week, Drysdale had been fighting a stomach bug falling ill after carrying the New Zealand flag at the opening ceremony. The comprehensive favourite to win at Shunyi, a drained Drysdale battled to a bronze, and needed medical attention after the race.  He was, of course, not washed up winning gold in London four years later and now training towards selection for his fourth Olympics, at Rio.

Inspired by Drysdales gutsy row, Bridgewater and Twaddle gave their all to grab a place on the pairs medal podium. Although it wasnt the gold theyd dreamed of, the duo were happily swept up in the New Zealand team celebrations.

It was a slow burn that kept accelerating. It took more than two hours for us to walk the kilometre from the grandstand to the bus, says Twaddle. Having retired from a 10-year professional rowing career in 2011, Twaddle is still heavily involved in elite sport working as an athlete life advisor with High Performance Sport New Zealand.  Im now in mission control; its great to be there for the athletes making sure that life is full and planned, and they have a long-term vision beyond their sporting career. Hes also convenor of the NZOC Athletes Commission.

After Beijing, Bridgewater took a five-year sabbatical from rowing, to study for a Masters degree at Oxford University, and work as an equity trader in Asia. Now hes returned home to have a final roll of the dice at an Olympic gold medal, as part of the Kiwi mens quad.  Like Drysdale, hell be going all-out at the world rowing championships in Aiguebelette, France, later this month.

The fourth medal on that incredible day was won on the boards of the Laoshan Velodrome. Cyclist Hayden Roulston the toast of Ashburton claimed silver in the mens 4000m individual pursuit after a gallant ride-off with British rider, now Sir, Bradley Wiggins. Two days later, Roulston who had overcome a heart condition - added a bronze medal to his name, in the teams pursuit.  A professional road cyclist with American team Trek Factory Racing, Roulston is aiming to return to the track for another shot at Olympic glory in 2016.

To round out Super Saturday, 23-year-old Valerie Adams emerged in the centre of the Birds Nest and demanded the worlds attention with her first throw in the womens shot put final. The 20.56m throw, a personal best, was not beaten, and she won her first Olympic gold medal and the first athletics gold by a New Zealander in 32 years (since John Walkers 1500m victory in Montreal).

Now splitting her time between Auckland and Switzerland, Adams is on the challenging road to recovery after shoulder and elbow surgery.  But her sights are still firmly set on attempting to become the first New Zealander to win a gold medal at three successive Olympics.


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