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Valerie Adams with her gold medal in Beijing - Source: Photosport
What is shaping as New Zealand's biggest team at an Olympics have a tantalising milestone in sight.
The country's total medal tally in summer and winter Olympics since first entering as part of Australasia in 1908, when London was also the host, stands at 90.
NZOC secretary-general Kereyn Smith says reaching the 100 mark is "a realistic aspiration" for the upcoming Games, which open on July 28 (NZT) and run to August 13.
"That would be very cool and very special, and a cause of great celebration for everyone," she said.
New Zealand have racked up 10 or more medals at an Olympics only three times before - Seoul 1988 (13), Los Angeles 1984 (11, including a record eight gold) and Barcelona 1992 (10).
Chef de mission Dave Currie is upbeat about making it four in London.
"We would be disappointed if we didn't get our 100th medal," he said, citing the depth of potential within the ranks.
Currie is reluctant to say where the successes might come, but takes the view that bolters seldom make it on to the podium.
Instead, those spots are generally occupied by competitors who have been in the top three or four in their discipline over the previous 12 months.
Before the Beijing Games in 2008, Currie says, New Zealand had 11 to 12 athletes or teams in that category and ended up with nine medals.
High Performance Sport NZ statistics show that, in 2011, New Zealand had 21 podium placings at world championship events, the most the country has achieved in a pre-Olympic year.
"How many medals is that? We can only speculate, but a lot of athletes are in the frame," Currie said.
The largest previous New Zealand contingent at an Olympics was the 184 competitors four years ago.
Spearheading New Zealand's hopes in London will be shot putter Valerie Adams, the world and Olympic champion.
There are rich prospects among the rowers, including the quartet of reigning world champion crews: the men's pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, female counterparts Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haig, five-time world single sculls title-holder Mahe Drysdale and double scullers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan.
Sailing, second behind track and field on the list of New Zealand's most successful Olympic sports, and track cycling also provide strong contenders.
Among others to watch are kayaker Lisa Carrington, triathlete Andrea Hewitt and BMX cyclist Sarah Walker, although a shoulder injury has hampered Walker's preparations.
For sentimental favourite, however, probably none can beat three-day event rider Mark Todd, who like fellow equestrian Andrew Nicholson has been selected for a New Zealand record-extending seventh Olympics.
The 56-year-old Todd, whose personal medal haul stands at two gold and two bronze, will also be New Zealand's second-oldest Olympian, behind sailor William Swinnerton, who was six months older in Melbourne in 1956.