John (Johannes) Ooteman

New Zealand's first gold medal was won yesterday by a Fielding cyclist, John Ooteman. Aged 28, Ooteman won the 35km time trial event on the Old West Coast Road ahead of 23 other competitors with a time of 51 min 12.13s.

A summary of each sport featuring in the upcoming VXI World Deaf Games in Christchurch – soccer, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, handball, track and field, wrestling, cycling, swimming and badminton, with New Zealand contenders for medals.

Although many people will not have heard of the World Games for the Deaf, New Zealand's involvement with them spans 40 years. The first information about the games reached New Zealand in 1949 and the New Zealand Amateur Sports Association was formed.

The Games will be about the same size as the 1974 sporting extravaganza in Christchurch, the Commonwealth Games. Yet it has been orchestrated on a budget of $700,000 – about one-third of the cost of the opening ceremony planned for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.

New Zealand won its first gold medal at the World Games for the Deaf in California yesterday when cyclist John Ooteman (Fielding) won the 35km time trial in 51m 10s. Also includes results from the New Zealand team.

Four New Zealand deaf athletes are favoured to win medals in swimming, cycling, and badminton. The 112-strong New Zealand team will compete in 11 of the 12 sports.

Ooteman, 28, showed his superb form to score his third successive World Games for the Deaf gold medal in the prestigious time trial event.

A magnificent success is how organisers described the World Deaf Games in Christchurch. The 112-member New Zealand team – the biggest yet – won seven medals.

A crowd of 4000 cheered and waved as about 1400 athletes and officials resplendent in national colours marched into the stadium as a reminder that the first World Games for the Deaf were held in Paris in 1924.

New Zealand athletes who took part in the World Deaf Games in Cologne arrived home unhappy about losing their bid to host the 1985 Deaf Games in Christchurch.