NEW YEAR ROYAL HONOURS
Rod Dixon and Lorraine Moller were both made Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours for services to athletics:
Rod Dixon ONZM
Rod has represented New Zealand in athletics and long distance running internationally and has promoted physical activity, health, and wellness for young people.
Rod represented New Zealand from 1971 to 1996, and is a four time Olympian, showcasing versatility and endurance across middle- and long-distance events. He achieved a bronze medal in the 1,500 metres at the 1972 Olympic Games, followed by fourth-place finishes in the 5,000 metres at the 1976 Olympics and the 1974 Commonwealth Games. He achieved a bronze medal at the 1973 and 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and a landmark victory at the 1983 New York City Marathon. He remains the only athlete in history to have medalled in the Olympic 1,500 metres and won the New York Marathon. He founded KiDSMARATHON Foundation in 1990, an educational running and nutrition programme that has been implemented in schools nationally and internationally, impacting more than 1.5 million students worldwide. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and the United States RRCA Distance Running Hall of Fame. From 1988 to 2000, he was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, promoting child rights and welfare on a global scale, and since 2005 has been Patron and inclusion Ambassador for Special Olympics, Leukemia Team in Training and Achillies New Zealand.
Lorraine Moller ONZM
Lorraine competed internationally from 1973 to 1996 as a track, cross-country and marathon runner while advocating for women’s equity and professionalism in sport.
She was the world’s top women’s master road racer in 1995 and 1996 and, at 41, the oldest woman to compete in the 1996 Olympic marathon, uniquely completing all 20th-century Olympic marathons. Over her career, she won 16 international marathons, including the Boston Marathon, an Olympic bronze medal, and Commonwealth Games silver and two bronzes. She holds an eight-marathon maiden win streak and remains undefeated as a masters runner. From 1997 to 2005, she founded and coached the Wings of Mercury running team in Colorado. She was Vice-President of the Japan-based Hearts of Gold Foundation, which founded the 1996 Angkor Wat Half Marathon, fundraising for prosthetics for landmine victims. She spearheaded a programme reinstating physical education in Cambodian schools post-Pol Pot. In 1997, she established GoldQuest, a mental and social skills conference for New Zealand Olympic athletes. She co-founded the Lydiard Foundation in 2008, which promotes fitness through Arthur Lydiard’s running methods, serving as President since 2012 and creating coaching certification courses preserving the method globally. Ms Moller has collaborated with KidsMarathon Foundation to enhance children’s fitness.
Wellington athletic stalwarts Peter and Sylvia Maunder both received the King’s Service Medal for services to athletics:
Peter Maunder KSM
Peter has officiated at athletics meets since the 1970s, and together with his wife Sylvia Maunder, have been active in various athletics activities.
He joined the Scottish Harriers in 1970 and went on to hold key roles, including Secretary and Handicapper. He was appointed as Honorary Surveyor to the Centre in 1975, a role he diligently fulfilled for 30 years. He served on the Karori Athletics Club Committee and the Wellington Junior Committee, where he was Chair for four years. He was also Chair of the Track and Field and Centre Committees. He was a Newtown Park Commission committee member, and officiated each weekend at the Park throughout the track season for almost 20 years, predominantly for horizontal jumps, high jump and throwing events. He has officiated at national and international championships, including the World Masters Championships and IPC World Para Championships, as well as other premier athletics events across New Zealand and Oceania. He is an internationally qualified road race course measurer and remains actively involved in course measuring. Mr Maunder was made a Life Member of Athletics Wellington in 2004, and awarded the Athletics New Zealand Merit Award in 2014.
Sylvia Maunder KSM
Sylvia has officiated at athletics meets since the 1980s, and together with her husband Peter Maunder, has been active in various athletics activities.
She began officiating at Wellington Centre interclub events at Newtown Park in the 1980s. With the Wellington Centre, she was Secretary of the Track and Field Committee for ten years and served a further three years as Chairperson. She served as Centre Delegate to the Athletics New Zealand Council for 18 years. She took an active role in the Colgate Games, serving on the Organising Committee and as Competition Secretary when the games were held in Wellington. She was a Newtown Park Commission committee member, and officiated each weekend at the Park throughout the track season for 13 years as a finish line recorder. After gaining a National Technical Official qualification in 2000, she continued officiating at Newtown Park, as well as at national and international championships, including the World Masters Championships and IPC World Para Championships. She was made a Life Member of Athletics Wellington in 2004 and awarded the Athletics New Zealand Merit Award in 2015. She retired in 2024 after 40 years of service.
Former New Zealand out of stadia representatives John and Val Robinson were both made Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to orienteering:
John Robinson MNZM
John has represented New Zealand in athletics and orienteering in international and Trans-Tasman competitions, and has helped grow orienteering as a sport in New Zealand since the 1970s.
He co-founded the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships in 1988 with his wife. Together, they have been heavily involved in orienteering coaching at schools, averaging 1,000 students annually and close to 4,500 students in 2017 alone. He pioneered midweek twilight orienteering in the Pukekohe area, mapping parks and setting courses, and managing events for around 100 participants a week. He established Year 7/8 and secondary school sprint orienteering across South Auckland, an initiative which has grown steadily, with around 500 children competing weekly. A committee member of Counties Manukau Orienteering Club, he has been their delegate to Orienteering New Zealand (ONZ) for 30 years. At the national level, he has been a Council member, contributed to technical and programme committees, and coached and managed ONZ world championship teams. His event planning contributions have shaped the success and high standards of national and international championships held in New Zealand. He has helped ensure the financial sustainability of the sport, securing funding from grants and other sources. He founded the Tokoroa Sports Person of the Year awards, an event that has continued for 50 years.
John won the 1966 Rotorua Marathon. He was national marathon champion in 1974 and represented New Zealand in the marathon at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games and at the world cross country championships in 1969.
Val Robinson MNZM
Val has contributed to education and sport, particularly the growth of orienteering since the 1970s.
After retiring as a teacher and Principal, she has organised school sports in the Franklin region on a voluntary basis. She established and maintained the weekly Counties Manukau/Franklin Zone orienteering competitions, drawing 400 to 500 young participants at each event. She has mapped numerous schools across Auckland, equipping teachers to integrate orienteering into physical education programmes. She was instrumental in establishing orienteering at the intermediate school level across Auckland, with more than 3,000 Year 7/8 students regularly competing annually in inter-zone orienteering days. She represented New Zealand at major international competitions in the 1970s, competed in almost every Trans-Tasman orienteering competition, and was assistant manager for the New Zealand team in 2011. She has been a key committee member of the Counties Manukau Orienteering Club since 1975, serving as President for three terms and overseeing the hosting of national and international events. She co-founded the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships in 1988 with her husband. Together, they have been heavily involved in orienteering coaching at schools, averaging 1,000 students annually and close to 4,500 students in 2017 alone. For more than 30 years she coordinated Counties Manukau school teams competing in major championships nationally.
Val was national senior cross country champion in 1967 and 1969, national road champion in 1970 and 1500m champion in 1970. She represented New Zealand at three world cross country championships, finishing third in 1969.