Editorial: Fisher the new golden girl

Hawke's Bay's Aimee Fisher is now a kayaking superstar. Photo/Balint Vekassy

Opinion

The regional uber-achiever award of the year thus far has to go to kayaker Aimee Fisher.

Her father Chris said it best this week when he agreed his daughter had materialised as "a global rock star" after her two gold medals in the K1 200m and 500m at the under-23 world championships in Romania this week.

The 22-year-old former Karamu High School student will now be coached by Gordon Walker - the man behind New Zealand's multiple world and Olympic champion Lisa Carrington.

Her father also said it couldn't be a more exciting time for New Zealand kayaking.

"We've got two girls with the same goals and same coach."

Last year Fisher got everyone's attention when her feats saw her take out the supreme honour at the Hawke's Bay Sports Awards.

Needless to say, one of the great things about being a local newspaper is the ability to chronicle someone's career development from the get-go.

The earliest records we have of Fisher is a results page showing her success in a surf lifesaving competition as an 11-year-old in 2006, then the earliest photograph of her as a 14-year-old holding a stash of eight gold medals after the kayaking nationals on Rotorua's Blue Lake in 2009.

Between those dates, and since, the accolades and consequent headlines have ensued.

Fisher's progressive boat speed and the complex body mechanics required for this points to someone increasingly in command of her craft.

No longer a promising paddler - but a performing paddler. Here's to the next gold-gilded Aimee Fisher headline.