Two new inductees for the Whanganui Sports Hall of Fame
Published on 08 March 2024
Sport Whanganui media release
Three-time Olympic rower Ian Wright and New Zealand wrestling legend, the late Kenneth (Ken) Ruby have joined an illustrious group of Whanganui sporting royalty.
The two sporting greats were inducted into the Whanganui Sports Hall of Fame following a ceremony in the Peter Snell Lounge at the Cooks Gardens Event Centre on Friday, 8 March. Wright and Ruby are the first inductees to the Hall of Fame since 2019, after a period of dormancy due to COVID-19.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, nominees must be from the Whanganui District, by birth or adoption, have been retired at least five years from top competition, represented New Zealand at “senior” level and/or contributed positively to, and brought credit to, sport in the district.
Kenneth (Ken) Ruby
Born in Wellington, Ruby’s athletic prowess made him a household name as one of New Zealand’s top amateur wrestlers of the 1940s-50s. He was a member of the New Zealand team to compete at the British Empire (Commonwealth) Games in Auckland in 1950, and in Vancouver in 1954, where he placed fifth.
Upon his return from Canada, Ruby and his young family moved to Whanganui and went on to give back to the sport for many years as a coach and official, including starting what is now the Whanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club alongside Police Constable Jim Bowley.
Ruby later became an international referee-judge, officiating at multiple Commonwealth Games and World Championship events. He was named a Life Member of the New Zealand Referee-Judge panel in 1980, and life member of the NZ Olympic Wrestling Union in 1989.
In 1998, Ruby was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for community service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. He passed away in Tauranga in 2011.
Ian Wright
Ian Wright is recognised as one of the top rowing coaches in the world and has a successful pedigree as an athlete, representing New Zealand at the highest levels of the sport.
Wright took up rowing at Whanganui High School in 1978 and made his first New Zealand Rowing Team in 1983 as a member of the under-23 squad to compete against Australia. He went on to compete at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, winning a silver medal with Barrie Mabbott in the coxless pair, and a bronze in the eight.
Wright was part of the New Zealand Olympic rowing team to compete in Seoul, Korea in 1988, where he won a bronze medal in the coxed four alongside Chris White, Andrew Bird, Greg Johnston and George Keys. He was stroke of the coxed four that finished 11th at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and returned for a third cycle to compete at Atlanta in 1996, finishing 13th.
As a coach at St Paul's Collegiate in Hamilton, and later at Hamilton Boys' High School, Wright produced Maadi Cup-winning squads at each school. He coached the New Zealand under-23 team at various times during the 2000’s and the development coxed four to the world championships in 2003. Wright has coached national teams in Australia and Switzerland and in 2023 was nominated for Coach of the Year by World Rowing.
Wright was unable to be at the event but sent a video message from Switzerland, where he is currently employed coaching the Swiss National team ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
Nominations for the Whanganui Sports Hall of Fame will open again in late-2024. A full list of Whanganui Sports Hall of Fame members and their citations can be found here.