Bruce Kendall

Anthony Bruce Kendall (born 27 June 1964) is a two-time Olympic medallist in sailing for New Zealand.

He has served as an elected member of the Howick Local Board since 2019.

Yachting Kendall's family are sailors. He began sailing in the P-class and Starlings before progressing to crewing 470 and keelboats. When he was 14 he turned to windsurfing. just failing to win another medal due to faulty equipment. The fin on his Lechner board, which were supplied by the Olympic regatta organisers in those days, snapped in the third race.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Kendall was a sailing coach for the New Zealand team. Kendall attempted to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the Tornado class with fellow former Olympic boardsailing representative Aaron McIntosh, but they were unsuccessful.

Kendall is the older brother of Barbara Kendall, who is also an Olympic gold medallist. They are the only brother and sister to have achieved this feat for New Zealand.

Kimberly Birkenfeld In 2002 Kimberly Birkenfeld, on a windsurfer, collided with a Yachting New Zealand motorboat driven by Kendall about one nautical mile from the Olympic sailing venue in Athens, Greece. Birkenfeld hit the back left hand side of the motorboat, knocking her unconscious. Kendall then pulled Birkenfeld on board the motorboat and resuscitated her. In hospital, Birkenfeld remained unconscious for 30 days. She had suffered severe head and spinal injuries, and remained in hospital for two months. Since the accident Birkenfeld now has to rely on a wheelchair for travelling long distances, suffers shortness of breath, and struggles to speak.

Coaching In 2012 Kendall was the coach of the Hong Kong board sailing team.

Political career

Kendall is active within local body politics in East Auckland. He first stood for the Howick Local Board in the 2016 Auckland local elections, but was unsuccessful. Kendall stood again in 2019 and was elected to the Board, representing the Pakuranga subdivision.

Awards and honours In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kendall was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to boardsailing. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.