Auckland golfer Mitch Brown has made good on a promise he made to himself and his dad by winning a gold medal at this year's Special Olympics in Berlin.
Brown went into the final round with a commanding 12-shot lead on the field but came under pressure from Denmark's Frederik Brokfelt-Christiansen.
"It was really tough out there today and I got a bit nervous because Fred was catching up to me," Brown said.
"But I managed to stay in the game and keep my cool."
In the end, Brown topped the podium by four strokes with Australian Kane Leonard coming in third.
Brown's father Mike said it was the realisation of a long-held goal for his son.
"A few years ago, when I told Mitch about Special Olympics and the World Summer Games in Berlin in 2023, he said I'm going to go there and win gold," Brown senior said.
"My goal was to bring back gold and now I have done it," the 20-year-old added. "I'm very proud and I feel very excited."
Brown said he enjoyed significant support on and off the golf course from his family and his father who caddied for him throughout the four rounds.
"Having so much family here was great," Brown said, who never played four consecutive rounds before.
"My dad really helped me to calm down and relax."
It was New Zealand's second gold medal at this year's Summer Games after Levin bocce player Aaron Campbell claimed the first on Tuesday.
New Zealand also claimed bronze in equestrian with Chelsea Thorn finishing third in English Equitation — an event that sees riders compete on horses they have never seen before.
Thorn said having the dressage the day before had been helpful.
"You can't bring your own horses here, so you can only ride for about 45min, which doesn't give you much time, but enough time to get used to the horse for the competition.
"Today was a huge improvement, so now we have had a bit more time on our horses tomorrow's working train should even go better."
Fellow equestrian athlete Samantha Shepherd finished fourth in her division.
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