Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

The extreme agony and ecstasy of sport was on display during the of the television coverage of the Winter Olympics in South Korea last week.

Winning never looked better than when American snowboarder Shaun White nailed the gold medal in the men's half pipe.

The double Winter Olympic gold medallist was under pressure as he trailed his Japanese opponent in the third leg of the final.

As the top qualifier, White had the last run of the competition and knew he needed a big performance to grab the gold medal.

Digging deep with a mesmerising performance, he stunned the crowd to grab the USA 100th Winter Olympic gold medal, with a riveting display of aerial snowboarding.

At the other end of the spectrum, was the agony experienced by Kiwi skeleton rider Rhys Thornbury.

The New Zealander, who competes in the one of the most hair-raising sports imaginable, in hurtling head first at incredible speed down an ice track while lying down, exceeded expectations to make the final twelve that took part in the medal contests.

Sitting in seventh place, the Kiwi skeleton rider's sled popped out of the grooves at the start to finish well out of contention. Live television coverage captured the raw emotion of defeat for all to see.

Knowing very little about snow sports got this writer turning to his trusty New Zealand sports bible, in the Sporting Records of New Zealand, compiled by Sydney Todd.

Published way back in 1976, the Kiwi sporting record book is snapshot of sport in our country in earlier times.

Dusting off the Kiwi sporting history book again, the book showcased the usual customary sports played in our country and others that have faded into annuals of time.

Alpine skiing stated around 1913 with the first ski club established on Mount Ruapehu.

The first chairlift was opened by mountaineering legend Sir Edmund Hillary on Mount Ruapehu in 1954.

The first Ice-Skating championships were held in 1937, with the sport, then dependant on the freezing over of lakes and ponds in the South Island.

Today, indoor ice rinks cater for the sport with even an indoor curling rink in the small Central Otago town of Naseby.

Whippet Racing was one sport that caught the eye of this writer. Whippets are in essence miniature greyhounds who were used as coursing dogs suitable for hunting in areas too confined for Greyhounds.

Introduced to New Zealand in 1924, the New Zealand Whippet Racing Association was formed in 1926, with regular race meeting held, until the sport fizzled out after WW2.

The Sporting Records of New Zealand tells us, that New Zealand Draughts Championship for the Dannevirke Cup, was first held in Wanganui in 1896.

Deerstalking and Angling records are recorded in separate chapters with powerboat racing also included.

Another sport to grab this writers attention was the little heard of today, cue-sport, of billiards.

The Sydney Todd book tells us that billiards was extremely popular in New Zealand following its introduction in the 1880's.

Clark McConachy who was born at Glenorchy (in the South Island) in 1895, won the World Professional Billiards Championship in 1951 and held the New Zealand Professional Billiards title from 1915 until his passing in 1980.