New Zealand made a solid start to their
500 metres final on a day disrupted by lightning and thunderstorms.
“We tried to use this to our advantage because we knew we could trust the team,” Hoskin said.
“We stuck to the processes we had practised and we helped each other stay mentally focused and calm.”
The Kiwis made a powerful start and by the 250-metre mark were just ahead of the defending champion Poland crew in the lane directly left of them.
With Carrington at the front of the boat, the New Zealanders maintained their form all the way to the finish and crossed the line in 1 minute 30.606 seconds, with Poland second in 1:31.320 and Spain third.
The reaction said it all.
“We looked at each other in disbelief and said ‘I guess teamwork really works’, which seems cliche, but we have spent so many hours off the water learning what it means to be the best team,” Hoskin said.
“I think that has helped us accelerate our learning on the water through all our training and ultimately through race week.
“It’s hard to pick a favourite part of the race because I was so present and loved every stroke.
“The girls put down a huge amount of commitment and aggression off the start line and it felt like we were about to take off.
“With about 200m to go, out of the corner of my eye I saw our black boat on the big screen and I thought ‘woah we’re leading!” and then we just focused on bringing it home strong.”
Carrington, who would go on to win the K1 500 and 200 metre titles — a total of 15 world championship crowns — was clearly elated, smacking the water with her hand and embracing her teammates when they got on to the pontoon.
“We have worked really hard in the last year to figure out how we can get across the line first,” she said in a post-race interview.
“It took a lot of belief, breaking mental models, trying to figure out how we as a four can go as fast as we can.”
Carrington said while she wasn’t one to tally up titles, “it was pretty amazing crossing the line and thinking this is one I didn’t have . . . it’s pretty cool”.
Hoskin, who started her career with Poverty Bay Kayak Club on Waimata River, now has the chance to emulate local legends Alan Thompson and Grant Bramwell, who won K4 men’s Olympic gold at Los Angeles in 1984.
“I am really motivated to keep getting better physically and as a team as we build towards the Olympics,” she said. “We are heading to the test event in Paris which will be a great opportunity to get our bearings, have a look around and test out the course.”
Canoe Racing NZ general manager of performance Nathan Luce described the K4 women’s performance as “an absolute masterclass”.
“It was an outstanding race. They made history here . . . rising to the occasion and delivering an incredible performance.”
The regatta ended in disappointment for Poverty Bay’s Zach Ferkins, whose K4 men’s crew failed to make the final, dashing their hopes of Olympic qualification. They were fourth in their semifinal — the top three advanced from each — in a time that was the sixth fastest out of the semis.
They placed fourth in the B final.
Poverty Bay’s Quaid Thompson won the C final of the men’s K1 1000 metres after placing sixth in his semifinal.
He was also seventh in the K1 5000 in a time of 21min 13.363sec. Denmark’s Mads Brandt Pedersen won in 19:55.467.
