NZ Olympian Ben Barclay spends interview praising Luca Harrington's bronze win

Even our most successful Kiwis in sport are as humble as ever, and that’s been proven by 2026 Winter Olympic teammates Luca Harrington and Ben Barclay.

After Harrington claimed a bronze medal in the slopestyle skiing event early Wednesday morning, his fellow Kiwi, Barclay - currently sitting eighth in the world - spent more time gushing about his mate than his own success.

“Honestly, I’m just stoked for Lukey, I kinda just wanna talk about him, I don’t even wanna talk about myself,” Barclay said.

“Seeing behind the scenes for the last few years of the work that the kid has put into skiing, the intensity that he’s brought, the passion, I mean, I could go on for hours,” he added.

To see that kid get the medal that he’s been chasing for so long is the highlight of my day. I didn’t even care about my result.

That's the classic Kiwi spirit right there.

Despite deservingly having his own success to celebrate, Barclay’s pride for his teammate was the first priority - that’s respect above all else.

“He worked so bloody hard, and his coach, Hamish McDougall, worked so bloody hard for that. So to see that work for the two of them, to see them up on that step, genuinely, I’m lost for words,” Barclay added of Harrington’s bronze success.

The interviewer also says that Harrington credits some of his success to Barclay.

But refusing to take credit for himself, Barclay adds that he is “just there to give him a pat on the back”.

Barclay competed in the last Winter Olympic Games, and knowing that Harrington has just missed out, it makes him even more proud to see that the hard yards from the last four years in between have paid off greatly.

“To see the journey that he’s been on and the dedication first hand has been special.”

Kiwis have jumped in the comments to praise Barclay and the rest of the NZ team for their sportsmanship and genuine support of each other.

“I love the closeness of this Winter Olympics team, such a tight bunch of amazing athletes,” one person wrote.

“How amazing to have a teammate like that! Humble, just as talented and a genuinely nice human,” said another.

A third added, “So classy. I can see why Ben carried our flag. 🙌”

Proud is an understatement of how Kiwis are feeling about our athletes right now.