Aimee Fisher and Lisa Carrington embrace after their race. Photo / Photosport
Aimee Fisher and Lisa Carrington embrace after their race. Photo / Photosport
Aimee Fisher had a message for Kiwi fans after she pushed Lisa Carrington to the limit in the climax of their three-race showdown today.
"Buckle in, people," Fisher said. "We've got another few years of this. It's going to be good."
While Carrington won the battle on Lake Karapiro, bookingthe solitary available seat for the K1 500m at this year's world championships, the pair's friendly rivalry should advance all the way to Paris.
That's where Carrington will be looking to add to her five Olympic gold medals by defending the K1 500 crown she claimed in Tokyo. And it's where Fisher will be hoping to earn her first medal and perhaps even upset Carrington in what may be her last Games.
Fisher proved in the last few days she had the potential to do just that. After winning Saturday's first encounter by 0.08 seconds, she was pipped by 0.11s on Sunday to set up a decider.
Carrington - who later said she had been "pretty nervous" before today's race - called on the composure that made her New Zealand's most successful Olympian to triumph by 0.61s, quietening a sizeable weekday crowd that had been vocally backing Fisher.
Victory means Carrington will be powering the black boat in Canada this August, leaving Fisher unable to defend the world title she won in her compatriot's absence after the Tokyo Olympics.
But the 27-year-old Fisher, five years Carrington's junior, could hardly contain her smile moments after being edged by a "spectacular" competitor.
"I've raced the Rio Olympics, the world champs - this was on a different planet," Fisher said. "I just think the intensity, the pressure, we both wanted it so bad.
"It's such a privilege to be part of a contest this intense. I can't even describe how I felt before the race - all the nerves, all the sleepless nights - and she brought out the best in me.
"I think we bring out the best in each other out there and it's a pretty epic battle. I'd say that series would be some of the racing of the decade."
Aimee Fisher and Lisa Carrington at the finish line during the third and final race to qualify for the K1 500 world championships. Photo / Photosport
Carrington echoed the idea the pair would improve each other and, after receiving a "wake-up call" in defeat on Saturday, believed having another Kiwi following so closely in her wake could only be positive.
"It was incredibly tough, Aimee is such an awesome competitor," she said. "If Aimee and I can go out there and paddle our fastest and push each other along, then that's really only going to make both of us faster.
"It's just so important that we support each other. We need each other to go forward and go faster. We've got this special opportunity to be able to do that."
The pair see plenty of each other while training separately on Lake Pupuke in the North Shore, remaining in close contact despite Fisher having withdrawn from Canoe Racing NZ's high performance programme in 2020 over athlete welfare concerns.
The world champion indicated she would for now remain apart from the centralised programme, seeing the last week as vindication of her approach.
"I love my team, I love the environment I'm in, and I think I'll be staying there," Fisher said. "I love who Aimee the athlete is growing into, and I love the person I'm becoming as well.
"It's been a process of walking through the fire at times, and no doubt it's been tough, but it's very liberating and there's a lot of gains still to be made."
Fisher did open the possibility of racing with her fellow Kiwis in the future - and Carrington called her "an awesome team-boat paddler" - but left no doubt her immediate focus would remain in the K1.
And why would that change? Considering Fisher edged the Olympic silver and bronze medallists to take the world title, and considering she's not too far off the gold medallist, the racing at Karapiro could well have been a preview for the final in Paris.
"I'll probably have a break now, seeing as I won't be going to world champs," Fisher said. "So take a month off, reset, and I'll be back next year.
"I'm all in with K1. I want to see how fast I can make one of those boats go and I've got some pretty ambitious goals."
