{{short description|New Zealand skeleton racer}} {{for|the Australian footballer|Ben Sandford (footballer)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Ben Sandford | honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|OLY}}<ref>[https://olympians.org/olympians/olympians-for-life/ Olympians: Olympians for Life] – website of the WOA</ref> | image = Profile--bensandford-390x2-UNC.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth-date and age|12 March 1979}} | birth_place = Rotorua, New Zealand | headercolor = lightsteelblue | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's skeleton}} {{MedalCountry|{{NZL}}}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalBronze|2012 Lake Placid|Men}} }}
'''Ben Sandford''' (born 12 March 1979 in Rotorua) is a New Zealand skeleton racer who has competed since 2002. He finished tenth in the men's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He finished 11th at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
==Early life== Sandford was born and raised in Rotorua, attending Rotorua Boys' High School.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rbhs.school.nz/news/64news5.pdf |title=RBHS 'Old Boy" Ben Sandford makes the skeleton finals at the Sochi Winter Olympics |date=February 2014 |website=Rotorua Boys' High School |accessdate=19 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220014905/http://www.rbhs.school.nz/news/64news5.pdf |archivedate=20 December 2014}}</ref> He later attended the Victoria University of Wellington, where he graduated with bachelor's degrees in law and geography in 2002.
==Sport career== Sandford's best finish at the FIBT World Championships was 3rd in the men's skeleton event at Lake Placid in 2012. With his bronze medal, Ben became the second person from the Southern Hemisphere to medal at the FIBT World Championships, after his uncle Bruce Sandford who won gold in the same event in 1992 in Calgary.
Due to his natural sporting talent, Sandford's introduction to Skeleton came after he led a Squash team representing Victoria University to an International University Squash Tournament held in Austria in 2002. The skeleton track was close to the host centre and Ben thought he would "give it a go."
He has served as an athlete representative to the New Zealand Olympic Committee since 2008 and the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pub/ben-sandford/98/b15/38a |title=Ben Sandford |website=LinkedIn |accessdate=19 December 2014}}</ref> At the 2014 Congress of the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing Sandford was elected as the federation's vice president for Legal Affairs, becoming the first person from Oceania to be elected to the FIBT's executive committee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slidingsports.org.au/2014/06/07/2014-fibt-congress-monaco/ |title=2014 FIBT Congress Monaco |last1=Simson-Woods |first1=Aaron |date=7 June 2014 |website=Sliding Sports Australia |accessdate=19 December 2014}}</ref>
==Political career== Sandford was the New Zealand Labour Party's candidate for Rotorua at the 2017 general election.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/87592441/ben-sandford-named-labours-rotorua-candidate |title=Ben Sandford named Labour's Rotorua Candidate }}</ref> Sandford was also ranked 57 on Labour's party list for the election.<ref>{{Cite web |date= 2 May 2017 |title= Labour Party List for the 2017 Election announced |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1705/S00018/labour-party-list-for-the-2017-election-announced.htm |publisher= Scoop.co.nz |accessdate= 2 May 2017}}</ref> Sanford came second place to National Party Member of Parliament Todd McClay, who won by a margin of 10,887 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rotorua - Official Result |url=https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2017/electorate-details-47.html |publisher=Electoral Commission |access-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116040512/https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2017/electorate-details-47.html |archive-date=16 November 2023 |date=October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In July 2022, Sandford announced he would contest the 2022 Rotorua mayoral election.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/ben-sandford-rotorua-lawyer-announces-mayoralty-bid/NYPQ2S2S3GLCMMMEZAEZ4VDHGU/ |title=Ben Sandford, Rotorua lawyer, announces mayoralty bid |date=16 July 2022 |work=Rotorua Daily Post |publisher=New Zealand Herald |first=Zizi |last=Sparks}}</ref> He came second to Tania Tapsell, losing by a margin of almost 3,300 votes.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell sworn into role at inaugural meeting |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/477139/new-rotorua-mayor-tania-tapsell-sworn-into-role-at-inaugural-meeting |access-date=24 March 2023 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102121326/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/477139/new-rotorua-mayor-tania-tapsell-sworn-into-role-at-inaugural-meeting |archive-date=2 November 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 24 February 2023, it was announced that Sandford would contest Rotorua for Labour again in the 2023 general election.<ref>{{cite news |first=Benn |last=Bathgate |date=24 February 2023 |title=Former Olympian joins the race for the Beehive as Rotorua's Labour candidate |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/bay-of-plenty/131323722/former-olympian-joins-the-race-for-the-beehive-as-rotoruas-labour-candidate |work=Stuff}}</ref> Sandford came second place to the incumbent McClay, who won by a margin of 8,923 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rotorua - Official Result |url=https://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/electorate-details-44.html |publisher=Electoral Commission |date=3 November 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210215715/https://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/electorate-details-44.html|archive-date=10 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Other sources== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722181244/http://www.todor66.com/olim/2006w/Skeleton_Men.html 2006 men's skeleton results (todor66.com)] * {{IBSF|100646|Ben Sanford}} * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050518042730/http://skeletonsport.com/personal/?contactid=912 |title=Ben Sandford at Skeletonsport.com}}
==External links== * {{NZOC profile|ben-sandford}} * {{Olympics.com profile|ben-sandford}} * {{SR/Olympics profile|sa/ben-sandford-1}}
{{2006 New Zealand Winter Olympic team}} {{2010 New Zealand Winter Olympic team}} {{2014 New Zealand Winter Olympic team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Ben}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:New Zealand male skeleton racers Category:Olympic skeleton racers for New Zealand Category:Skeleton racers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Skeleton racers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Category:Skeleton racers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Category:Sportspeople from Rotorua Category:World Anti-Doping Agency members Category:New Zealand Labour Party politicians Category:New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Category:20th-century New Zealand people Category:21st-century New Zealand people Category:People educated at Rotorua Boys' High School