New Zealand at the 2006 Winter Olympics
New Zealand competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The nation sent its largest team ever to the games with 18 athletes, 7 more than in Salt Lake City in 2002. New Zealand has only won a single Winter Olympics medal, a silver medal in Albertville. Alpine skiing New Zealand's top finisher in alpine skiing, Mickey Ross, survived a fall in the first run of the men's slalom to record a 31st-place finish. Bobsleigh The New Zealand team did not compete in the four-man bobsleigh due to injuries from a training run. Mathew Dallow and Alan Henderson did compete in the two-man event, but did not qualify for the final run. Curling The New Zealand national men's team qualified for the games after placing 8th at the 2005 World Championships. The team heading to Turin was skipped by Sean Becker, out of Ranfurly CC. The New Zealand men's team is the first team from the southern hemisphere to compete in curling as an official sport at the Olympics. Australia had previously competed in curling at the Olympics, but that was as a demonstration sport. Sean Becker's rink twice lost games late, including giving up two in the final