Watch the trailer below, featuring Meda McKenzie, Tuariki Delamere, Lee Ralph and more.
Watch episode one: Meda McKenzie vs the Cook Strait
Watch episode two: Tuariki Delamere’s somersault long jump
Watch episode three: Angela Walker’s forgotten gymnastic gold
Watch episode four: Precious McKenzie’s last gold medal
Watch episode five: Jane Tehira, the triple international
Watch episode six: Lee Ralph, the skateboarder who vanished
Watch Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends on TVNZ On Demand.
One morning in 1978, 15-year-old Meda McKenzie got into the water off the coast of Wellington and started swimming. Just over 12 hours later, she arrived in the South Island. A few years later, spurred on by a male swimmer who said it couldn’t be done, she crossed the Cook Strait again – then immediately turned around and swam the whole way back.
While these record-breaking big swims made national headlines at the time, they have long since faded from the public memory. That’s where Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends comes in. The first episode of the new season tells the story of Meda McKenzie – one of New Zealand’s greatest endurance athletes.
Like the first season, which won Best Sports Programme at the 2020 NZ TV Awards, the six new episodes of Scratched profile New Zealand athletes whose incredible feats have been forgotten or gone unappreciated.
Other episodes in the series feature stories of what could have been, like revolutionary long jumper Tuariki Delamere and pioneering skateboarder Lee Ralph. There are stories of athletes before their time, like triple-international Jane Tehira, and athletes whose performances were overshadowed by other events, like 1990 Commonwealth Games gold medal gymnast Angela Walker. And in the case of weightlifting legend Precious McKenzie, there’s the story of a world-beating athlete who made New Zealand his home.
Directed by Madeleine Chapman, season two of Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends premieres on The Spinoff on Tuesday, February 9, with new episodes out weekly.
Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends is made with support from NZ On Air.