The Olympic Games have come to a close and with it, New Zealand returns from Tokyo with a record haul of 20 medals.
Just how those 20 medals came about? Take a trip down memory lane after an intense two weeks of competition on sport's biggest stage.
Monday July 26 - Wilde gets the ball rolling
Hayden Wilde gave New Zealand its first taste of Olympic success in Tokyo with a courageous effort in the men's triathlon.
After a decent swim league and cycling stint, Wilde managed to break away from the field alongside Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt and Great Britian's Alex Yee in the run section.
Blummenfelt timed his run to perfection to break away for gold, beating Yee by 11 seconds with Wilde nine seconds further back.
Wilde later dedicated the medal to his late dad in an emotional interview.
Wednesday July 28 - Sweet silvers
New Zealand picked up its first two silvers on the same day with Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne first up in the women's double sculls.
The Kiwi rowers took second in the final behind Romania's Bodnar Nicoleta-Ancuta and Simona Radis, who set an Olympic Best time to win the gold.
Later that evening, the All Blacks Sevens went up against a spirited Fiji side who managed to defend their Rio gold medal with a 27-12 win over the New Zealand men.
The result was big for both sides - New Zealand turning around their horror run in Rio five years prior to get the silver medal and Fiji bringing hope to their nation that's been dealing with a deadly Covid-19 outbreak.
Thursday July 29 - Gold on the water
New Zealand's first taste of gold came soon after with rowers Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast putting on a show at the Sea Forest Waterway to top the podium in the women's pair.
Prendergast and Gowler beat ROC and Canada to top the podium.
They wouldn't be the only Kiwi rowers to know that sensation although the next two to do it had some pretty surreal stories leading up to those moments.
Friday July 30 - Persistence beats resistance
Murray has seen first-hand the pain and effort Twigg has used on her way to an Olympic gold medal. (Source: Other)
New Zealand's first medal rush of the Tokyo Games was a doozy with Emma Twigg finally claiming an Olympic medal after heartbreak in both London and Rio in the women's single scull.
Not only that, she buried those demons in golden form, topping the podium with an Olympic best time.
Soon after, rowing added two more medals with the women's eight claiming silver before the men's eight broke a decades-long drought to become the first Kiwi crew to win gold in the event since 1972 soon after.
And if the medal spree at the Sea Forest Waterway wasn't enough, tennis aces Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell then stunned Tokyo with a superb straight-sets win over USA later that evening to claim a bronze medal - New Zealand's first medal in tennis.
Daniell later revealed he had been thinking of retiring before Tokyo, adding to an already-emotional campaign.
Twigg, on the other hand, had already done that before coming out of retirement to finally realise her Olympic dream and summed up the day perfectly.
"Persistence beats resistance."
Saturday July 31 - Flying high
The medals kept coming for Kiwis with Dylan Schmidt making history as New Zealand's first gymnast to win an Olympic medal with his bronze medal performance in the men's trampoline.
Schmidt entered the final seeded third after a clean qualifier less than an hour before and continued that form in the final to join Belarus and China on the podium.
Adding to the precious moment was the fact fellow Kiwi and former Olympian Sarah Walker awarded him his medal in the following ceremony.
Hours later, the Black Fern Sevens realised a goal five years in the making when they took down France in the gold medal match to win the women's rugby sevens competition and go one better than they did in Rio.
Captain Sarah Hirini gave an emotional interview after the final, dedicating the medal to her late mother who died last year.
Sunday August 1 - A bronze worth its weight in gold
Five-time Olympian Dame Valerie Adams rounded out her medal collection with a stunning bronze medal performance in the women's shot put final.
Dame Valerie was joined by Maddi Wesche in the final with the Kiwi youngster finishing sixth after throwing a personal best of 18.98m in the final.
Dame Valerie would claim bronze with a throw of 19.62m and couldn't contain her emotions afterwards as the triumph dawned on her.
The 36-year-old kept a photo of her two young children close as soon as the final was over, proudly showing the world her "why" for competing.
Tuesday August 3 - Carrington sparks another medal rush
New Zealand would post its second four-medal day in Tokyo with kayak sprinter Lisa Carrington playing a golden role, defending her title in the K1 200m event before backing that performance up less than an hour later to win the K2 500m crown alongside Caitlin Regal.
Making Carrington's efforts all the more impressive was the fact she had already raced two semi-finals that day and by the time she had gotten to the K2 500m final, she had already won gold in the K1 200m and had to attend the medal ceremony in the Tokyo heat for it.
None of that appeared to have an effect on the 32-year-old though as she broke the Olympic Best times for both events in each final - after setting the records in the semi-finals hours before.
Away from the Sea Forest Waterway, boxer David Nyika realised a dream with a bronze medal in the men's heavyweight division.
Nyika went down valiantly in his semi-final to world No.1 Muslim Gadzhimagomedov from the ROC, shaking hands with the Russian after their bout.
Kiwi sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke then rounded out the day in thrilling fashion, duelling with Great Britain and Germany for first place in the all-important medal race of the 49er event in Enoshima.
Great Britain would win the race by the slimmest of margins, but it was enough to take the crown off Burling and Tuke who still proudly claimed silver.
Thursday August 5 - Carrington makes history, cycling makes waves
Lisa Carrington returned to the water for a third final, this time competing in the women's K1 500m.
As she had in finals past, Carrington jumped out to an impressive lead at the start of the race and held on to her lead to claim gold.
With the triumph, Carrington became New Zealand's most-decorated Olympian of all time with six medals to her name, five of which were gold.
Tom Walsh would also add another Olympic medal to his own career on the other side of Tokyo, claiming bronze behind the American one-two combo of Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs.
While some may have thought the day was over, New Zealand's cycling team then came to the party via Campbell Stewart and Ellesse Andrews.
Stewart, a late entry for the men's omnium after replacing Aaron Gate who was injured earlier in a rough crash, pulled off a stunning ride by lapping the field in the final laps to jump into the silver medal position.
In just as impressive a showing, Andrews surged to the line in the women's keirin to wrap up a silver and with it, New Zealand's third four-medal day in Tokyo.
Saturday August 7 - Ko rounds things off
Lydia Ko continued her fine 2021 with a bronze medal in the women's golf competition to give New Zealand its 20th medal in Tokyo.
Ko was in the conversation after a pushing into the top 10 in the second round.
The Rio silver medallist then notched a round of 66 to force her way into a tie for third in the third round and after a back and forth final day, earned a playoff for the silver medal with Japan's Mone Inami.
While Inami would win the playoff, Ko still got to share an emotional moment on the podium, later revealing she was dedicating her bronze to her grandma who had died a week prior.
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