The best quotes from Kiwis at the London Olympics:
"It was a disgrace, an absolute disgrace. I thought the British were meant to be sporting people." - ANDREW NICHOLSON hits out at organisers after heavy rain and lightning forced a 10-minute delay to the eventing dressage just before he entered the arena.
"Two seconds is two seconds and fourth sucks." - BikeNZ high performance director MARK ELLIOTT after Linda Villumsen just misses a medal in the time trial.
"It was probably one of the worst mornings of my life." - Olympic single sculls champion MAHE DRYSDALE reveals he was sick with nerves before his race to gold.
"The New Zealand Olympic Team is taking the situation extremely seriously." - The NZOC looks for a rock to crawl under after Valerie Adams' name was left off the startlist for the women's shot put competition.
"It is my best birthday ever." - Kiwi relay swimmer SAMANTHA LUCIE-SMITH celebrates her 20th birthday in style in the Olympic Village by sharing a photo with US swimming superstars Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte and convincing them to sign her birthday card.
"I just had to gather them up and hope like hell I didn't lose them." - Kiwi eventer MARK TODD after losing his reins early in the cross country round before recovering to lie third heading into the showjumping.
"We were having a flyer and my blade had had it. It got caught in the water and snapped in half so even if I could recover it, it would not have been any good. I had to enjoy the ride for the last metres." - LOUISE TRAPPITT after her oar "catches a crab" and breaks, denying the NZ women's quadruple sculls a place in the final.
"I hope I did New Zealand proud. I gave my all." - Kiwi cyclist JACK BAUER after his 19th-place finish in the men's time trial to go with his 10th place in the road race.
"I felt like someone put a pin in me and it let all the air out. I was totally deflated." - Kiwi paddler MIKE DAWSON after he misses two gates in the canoe slalom semi-final to miss out on the final.
"We will have a few months' break, act like normal people, do normal things and stay up past eight o'clock at night." - Women's quad sculler FIONA BOURKE on her plans after their Olympic campaign finishes with a win in the consolation final.
"Better to win ugly than not at all." - Double sculler NATHAN COHEN after he and Joseph Sullivan storm home to win New Zealand's first gold of the London Games.
"Someone did some stat, something ridiculous like 17,000 strokes were taken in training for every stroke we did in the final, which is quite ludicrous over four years." - HAMISH BOND puts in the work to win Olympic gold.
"It's never good to do a 2km warm-up for a 4km race, especially when I had a flat tyre for five or six of those first few laps." - SHANE ARCHBOLD has to race the 4000m individual pursuit for a second time after a puncture.
"It stings a little bit to stare down a barrel and finish your career without reaching your potential." - Kayaker BEN FOUHY hits out at the lack of support he's received in his career after missing a place in the K1 1000m final.
"My aggressiveness wasn't there like it used to be." - Silver medallist VALERIE ADAMS after failing to defend her Olympic shot put title.
"The who?. It's a long time coming I suppose." - Triathlete RYAN SISSONS after being asked by an Australia journalist how it feels to be ahead of the trans-Tasman rivals on the Olympic medal table.
"For some inexplicable reason she hasn't ticked the box. She was certain in her mind that she had, but she hadn't." - NZ Olympic team boss DAVE CURRIE explains Athletics New Zealand manager Raylene Bates's error on Valerie Adams' entry form.
"That lunge for the line was huge. The whole nation was pushing me in that lunge." - Keirin bronze medallist SIMON VAN VELTHOOVEN on his effort on the line.
"I'm a diesel engine these days and this was a Formula 1 type course." - Kiwi 35-year-old triathlete BEVAN DOCHERTY after finishing 12th on the fast London course.
"We're really proud to have done that and to get our name alongside the other people to have won medals for our country." - 49er sailor BLAIR TUKE after he and Peter Burling win New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal.
"My heart hurts more than my head." - Black Sticks striker KATIE GLYNN after she was whacked in the head with a stick as they bow out in a penalty shoot-out to Netherlands.
"I can't actually bend it, so I couldn't punch with my left hand, but the doc put an anaesthetic in it so I can't actually feel it." - Kiwi taekwondo fighter LOGAN CAMPBELL competes with a broken finger at the Olympics.
"I can't believe it. It's awesome, it's really cool. It hasn't sunk in." - 470 sailor OLIVIA POWRIE after she and Jo Aleh won gold in Weymouth.
"I was scared every time I rode my bike up until about two months ago. Sometimes I'd do jumps and I'd have a close call and I'd cry." - BMX silver medallist SARAH WALKER on the fears she had after dislocating her shoulder in a crash three months ago.
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