20 Jun 2012

Te Mahutonga cloak presented to Olympic team

9:20 am on 20 June 2012

The New Zealand Olympic Committee's feather cloak Te Mahutonga has been formally presented to the London 2012 Olympic team in a ceremony in Wellington.

Te Mahutonga is worn only by the flag bearer of New Zealand summer and winter Olympic teams.

Its presentation is an important milestone in New Zealand's countdown to Olympic Games events.

The cloak was worn most recently by snowboarder Juliane Bray in Vancouver in 2010 and world champion rower Mahe Drysdale at the 2008 Beijing games.

The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Maori Development Te Puni Kokiri in Wellington on Tuesday.

The London Olympics start on 27 July.