Bay of Plenty's Lisa Carrington will lead a strong New Zealand team at the Canoe Sprint World Championships. Photo / Supplied
Bay of Plenty's Lisa Carrington will lead a strong New Zealand team at the Canoe Sprint World Championships. Photo / Supplied
Bay of Plenty's Lisa Carrington will lead a New Zealand team which boasts an exciting blend of youth and experience at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint and Para canoe World Championships.
The event is being held in Szeged, Hungary from August 21-25 and the New Zealand team includes all fiveKiwi medallists from last year's World Championships.
The nine-strong squad also contains three paddlers set to make their open World Championship debuts.
Carrington will look to continue her dominance in the women's K1 200m in which she has won the last six world titles and two Olympic gold medals. The 30-year-old paddler is unbeaten over the distance for seven years and in May demonstrated her class by claiming an emphatic K1 200m win at the ICF World Cup regatta in Poznan, Poland.
Carrington will also line up in the K1 500m. The 2015 world champion secured silver at last year's event in Portugal – finishing behind Hungary's double Olympic K1 500m champion Danuta Kozak – and claimed a confidence-boosting win in her most recent K1 500m international appearance at the World Cup in Poznan.
She is also one quarter of New Zealand's talented women's K4 500m team alongside Kayla Imrie, Caitlin Ryan and Aimee Fisher.
At the 2018 World Championships, the quartet produced an inspired paddle to win silver, finishing just one hundredth of a second behind the powerhouse Hungarian crew, in a titanic tussle. They also served notice of their form earlier this season when claiming a decisive World Cup win in Poznan.
Ryan and Alicia Hoskin team up for New Zealand in the K2 500m boat. Ryan is a hugely experienced K2 500m performer; snaring a gold and a silver medal in the discipline alongside Lisa Carrington at the past two World Championships.
New Zealand's K4 500m team in action during last year's World Championships. Photo / Photosport
Nineteen-year-old Poverty Bay paddler Hoskin gained experience earlier this year, competing in the Kiwi K4 500m boat at the ICF World Cups in Poznan and Duisburg, Germany.
Para canoeist Scott Martlew will lead the men's challenge after enjoying another outstanding year. The Christchurch-based leg amputee won a silver medal in the KL2 200m at the 2018 World Championships behind Australia's Curtis McGrath in Portugal.
Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie – younger brother of Kayla – will also make their open World Championship debuts following a breakthrough international campaign.
The pair will feature in the men's K2 1000m, in which they finished an impressive eighth in the A Final at the ICF World Cup in Poznan.
Completing the New Zealand team is Quaid Thompson, who lines up for his second open World Championship appearance in the K1 1000m and K1 5000m events.
Canoe Racing NZ CEO Tom Ashley said: "The World Championships are the pinnacle event for our athletes each year, presenting the opportunity to race against the best athletes in the world when everybody is looking to be in peak shape. The year before the Olympic Games, competition is even more fierce as nations compete for Olympic qualification.
"This year we have a great mix of seasoned performers and new talent. It's fantastic that three athletes are making their World Championships debuts and we are excited to see them take this opportunity. We look forward to seeing our team test themselves, and others, on the water. We know they will represent New Zealand and our sport with pride."
On day one of the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, which begin tomorrow,Scott Martlew starts his quest in the men's KL2 200m heats. Meanwhile, Lisa Carrington competes in the heats of the women's K1 200m.
Day One Kiwis in action
Wednesday: 7.10pm: Scott Martlew Heats of the Men's KL2 200m. 10.25pm: Scott Martlewsemifinals of the Men's KL2 200m.
Thursday: 3.10am: Lisa Carrington Heats of the Women's K1 200m.
