Duane Kale


Duane Paul Kale is a New Zealand Paralympic swimmer.

Paralympic results

Duane Kale won four gold medals, along with a silver and a bronze, at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. This remains the most successful medal haul of any New Zealander in a single Paralympics or Olympics. He competed in the S6 sports class.

Kale as Chef de Mission

Kale retired as an athlete after Atlanta 1996, but went on to be Team Manager at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. He was named Chef de Mission for the New Zealand Paralympic Team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics.

Awards and honours

In the 1997 New Year Honours, Kale was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to swimming.

Services to the Paralympic Movement internationally

In November 2013, he was elected to the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board. He was elected vice president in 2017 and reelected to the position in 2021 for a further four-year term.