(Sports) Gymnastic trio make New Zealand Olympic history

They may only be three, but the trio of athletes will be the largest gymnastics team New Zealand has sent to the Olympics in more than 50 years.

The contingent heading to Rio would also be the first New Zealand gymnasts to compete at the Olympics since the Sydney 2000 games, the New Zealand Olympic Committee said Wednesday.

Courtney McGregor, Mikhail Koudinov and Dylan Schmidt were all first-time Olympians and the first New Zealand trio to compete in three different gymnastics disciplines at an Olympic Games, and to qualify directly through the international quota system, at the recent Rio Olympic Games test events.

McGregor, 18, and Koudinov, 24, would represent New Zealand in the women's and men's artistic gymnastics discipline respectively, while Schmidt, 19, was New Zealand's first ever trampoline athlete to compete at an Olympic Games.

Tony Compier, head of the sport's representative body GymSports New Zealand, said it was largest number of New Zealand gymnasts selected to an Olympic Team since Tokyo 1964.

"It is also the first time that athletes from three different disciplines have qualified directly through the international qualification system," Compier said in a statement.

"This means that not only have these athletes qualified by merit, but all three have made a strong case for targeting an Olympic diploma (top eight placing) in Rio." Endit