Aussies advance in NZ star's wake

PACESETTER: Lisa Carrington says she has picked up on things she needs to work on since returning from Moscow. PHOTO/JAMIE TROUGHTON/DSCRIBE MEDIA SERVICES

Blue Lakes regatta chance for Olympic pair to measure their progress after training with world's best paddler

TOP Australian kayakers, Naomi Flood and Jo Brigden-Jones, will take on New Zealand's best in Rotorua this weekend, after spending the best part of three weeks trying to close the gap on Kiwi world champion Lisa Carrington.

The Olympic pair, part of the Australian K4 team at the London games, have been training with Carrington in Queenstown and will measure their progress at this weekend's Blue Lakes 2 regatta at Tikitapu (Blue Lake).

Flood is a former surf lifesaving star with a clear supremacy over Carrington in waves.

Put them on flat water, though, and it's a different story.

"Lisa's the greatest paddler in the world at the moment in the women's ranks and she lives a couple of hours' flight away so it's a no-brainer to jump on a plane and try and get sucked along with her momentum and take on something different," Flood said.

"It's been a good insight to see how she trains and what works for her. The whole set-up is pretty different to what we do at home and we're benefiting from being here and, hopefully, she's benefiting from us being here too."

This weekend's regatta represents the first competitive outing for Carrington after she defended her K1 200m title at the world championships in Moscow in August and captured silver in the K1 500m.

Flood and Brigden-Jones finished seventh in the K2 500m final, with Carrington pairing with Eastern Bay teammate Jaimee Lovett for that discipline this weekend.

"Moscow was at the end of a big year - 2014 was a really big season for me - so it was good to reflect on that and figure out what we can do going forward," Carrington said. "I had a good break and, after coming back from Moscow, I've been picking up things I really need to work on, which gives me a good focus going into this block I'm in now.

"It's been really good having Jo and Floody here, especially with them being such good paddlers - it's great to have people on the water pushing me and I really enjoy that they're getting something out of it."

While Carrington is a clear favourite in the K1 200m, Flood's presence in the K1 500m - along with Kiwis Teneale Hatton, Kayla Imrie and rising star Aimee Fisher - will make for an intriguing race.

The men's ranks have been strengthened by Gisborne brothers Darryl and Jarrod Fitzgerald, who will compete with the likes of Marty McDowell (Mana), Zac Quickenden (Arawa) and North Shore duo Jack Wilson and Zac Franich.

National K1 200m champion Scott Bicknell (Bay of Plenty) will front in the shorter distance, with the notable absence that of fellow Bay of Plenty paddler Andrew Roy, the sole Kiwi competing in the Grand Prix series in Adelaide this weekend.

The two-day regatta has drawn 207 paddlers from across the country. It's a significant rise from the 128 paddlers who attended in 2011, with 142 competing in 2012 and 183 last year.

Canoe Racing New Zealand chief executive Mark Weatherall was delighted with the strengthening base in the sport.