Dame Lisa Carrington chasing more gold

Dame Lisa Carrington isn’t easing off as she heads into another busy year on the water.

New Zealand’s most decorated Olympian was last named awarded the Supreme honour at the Halberg Awards.

Dame Lisa Carrington
Photo: Photosport

Dame Lisa competed in four events at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, winning gold in three of them.

It is the fifth straight year that she has been named New Zealand Sportswoman of the year and the second time she has won the Supreme award, the last was after winning gold and silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

With the help of MIQ Carrington did manage a decent break over the summer, however she’s back into training, although she was allowed a sleep-in following last night’s awards evening and didn’t start training this morning until 7:30am.

“This is my work and I still want to keep turning up for that,” Carrington said after her training session.

2022 is set to be another busy year for the 32 year old as her plan is to compete at the World Championships in Canada in August and hopefully some of the lead-up World Cup events.

With the K1 200 no longer an Olympic event, her work load is set to be less, however she’s still keen to be in multiple kayaks.

“I’d love to do the K1 500 and the team boats also.

“With the team boat trialling coming up in the next few months, it will be great to see how well the girls have come along since the Olympics.”

Carrington has been on the international scene for a long time, winning a bronze medal at a World Cup regatta in 2009.

She teamed up with coach Gordon Walker a year later and won her first World Championship title in the K1 200 in 2011 before claiming gold in the same event at the 2012 Olympics in London… the first of the five Olympic gold medals she now owns.

Walker and Carrington
Photo: Photosport

Walker doesn’t see too much of a change for them in 2022.

“What hasn’t changed is the enduring desire and passion to become better and to be looking forward, so there has always been more to offer and more to chase and I don’t see 2022 being any different.”

Can Carrington go faster?

“I guess that’s what we’re working out what can be changed, but I think there are always going to be those subtle changes everywhere in training so it’s going to be in the details,” she said.

Walker agrees.

“There is certainly a view to how fast someone can go in the women’s K1 500. Trying to be innovative about how we reach that, but at the same time stay true to some of the principles that have worked for a long period of time.”

Carrington says doing something close to the world’s best time of 1’46” (held by Belorussian Volha Khudzenka) would be something special.

The next Olympics in Paris are now just over two years away and Carrington still wants to be heavily involved.

“I still want to do the individual and team events (K2, K4) so it won’t be as hectic (as Tokyo) not having the K1 200 there, but we’ll still have to qualify and so to have four women there would be great.”