New Zealand has been part of the Olympic movement since 1908, when they  teamed up with Australia to compete under the banner of ‘Australasia’. We won our first medal the same year, with a bronze for Harry Kerr in the 3500-metre walk. In 1920 we sent our first official Olympic team, and since then our athletes have achieved remarkable success, winning gold in sports ranging from boxing to athletics, yachting, rowing, hockey, equestrian, canoeing, boardsailing, swimming, cycling and triathlon.

In this stamp issue New Zealand Post celebrates all of those New Zealanders who strive to achieve at the pinnacle of their chosen sport.

50c – Celebrate Our 2008 Beijing Olympics stamp issue is a celebration of the event and the people who make the Olympics the ultimate sports event – those who’ve represented us with distinction in the past, and those who’ve proved they have the drive, the determination and the performance record to compete in 2008.

50c – Passion The Olympics stamps depict four of the sports in which Kiwis have excelled – cycling, rowing, canoeing and athletics. Closely connected to our 2008 Children’s Health issue, the stamps share a similar design and illustrative style – demonstrating through words the link between the children of today and the sporting heroes of tomorrow.

$1.00 – Succeed Olympic ‘success’ is measured in many ways – and a gold medal win is simply one of them. For New Zealanders, every athlete who represents our country is already a success; we’re hugely proud of their dedication to their sport, their willingness to train to the limits of their endurance, and their spirit of healthy competition wherever in the world their talents take them.

$2.00 - Motivate With a long history of outstanding Olympic successes behind them, the 2008 New Zealand team has plenty of motivation! It’s a team spirit that has taken generations of teams from this small, isolated country to compete against the best in the world – and often to return victorious. Our performance at the 2004 Games in Athens yielded three golds and two silvers – can we do better this year?

Date of issue: 2 July 2008. 
Number of stamps: Four gummed.
Denominations: 50c gummed (x2), $1.00, $2.00.
Stamps and first day cover designed by:  Martin Bailey, Auckland, New Zealand.
Printer and process: Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography.
Number of colours:  Four process colours.
Stamp size: Gummed: 35mm x 35mm.
Paper type: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper.
Number of stamps per sheet: Gummed: 25.
Perforation gauge:14.25.
 

Source- NZ Post  website