New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics, he went on to win another gold medal and a silver medal at that Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. He was the first New Zealander to compete in five Olympic Games and his four gold medals is still the New Zealand record for an individual haul at the Games. His five Olympic medals is the record for the most Olympic medals won by a New Zealander, a record he shares with fellow canoeist Paul MacDonald, and equestrian Mark Todd.