Hamish Clive Carter ONZM

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

 (born 28 April 1971 in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

) is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 triathlete

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

. He won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, his second Olympic games. Carter also competed on the International Triathlon Union

International Triathlon Union

The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...

 World Cup

ITU Triathlon World Cup

The ITU Triathlon World Cup is an annual series of triathlon races staged around the world. The series is organised by the International Triathlon Union , the world governing body of the sport. BG Group was the title sponsor of the series from 2000 to 2008...

 circuit as a professional for many years, culminating in a silver medal in 2006 before announcing his retirement early in 2007. During his career he won twelve ITU world cup races.

Carter attended Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...

 where he was a successful rower, competing twice in the Maadi Cup

Maadi Cup

The Maadi Cup is the prize for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Boys' Under 18 Rowing Eights. More colloquially, it is the name given to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Regatta, at which the Maadi Cup is raced...

. He switched to triathlon when he realised he was not large enough to row at a senior level.

Carter won the bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in triathlon at the 2002 Commonwealth Games

2002 Commonwealth Games

The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...

 and then went on to win the triathlon gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, defeating his close friend, rival and fellow New Zealander, Bevan Docherty

Bevan Docherty

Bevan John Docherty is a triathlete from New Zealand who twice won medals at the Olympic Games. Docherty attended Tauhara College, Taupo....

. Carter's time was 1:51:07.73, less than eight seconds faster than Docherty's. On 3 September 2006 in Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, Carter won silver at the World Championships

ITU Triathlon World Championships

The ITU Triathlon World Championships have been held annually since 1989, the same year as the formation of the International Triathlon Union – the world governing body of triathlon...

 after finishing 17 seconds behind Tim Don

Tim Don

Timothy Philip Don is a triathlete from the United Kingdom.-Career:Don competed at the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He took tenth place with a total time of 1hr 49min 28.85sec. In the second Olympic triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics he was placed eighteenth with a...

. In October 2006, Hamish Carter won the Xterra World Championship in Maui, Hawaii defeating a field of more experienced off-road triathletes.

On 6 March 2007 he announced his retirement.