Lisa Carrington nailed down yet another world championships title this week. Photo / AP
Lisa Carrington nailed down yet another world championships title this week. Photo / AP
A few hours after her final race at the 2022 Canoe Racing world championships in Canada on Monday (NZT), Dame Lisa Carrington was able to catch up with her family, celebrating together after another impressive international campaign.
Those moments of quiet reflection were special, and something that hasn't been possiblesince 2019 due to Covid, with events being cancelled, before the closed bubble at the Tokyo Olympics.
It was also a chance to look back on another extremely demanding and successful regatta.
The New Zealand women's squad competed in 10 races and the 33-year-old Carrington was involved in every one, anchoring the K2 500m and K4 500m crews along with her solo pursuits.
The high point was her convincing K1 500m triumph (the third at this level) along with her eighth successive K1 200m triumph, to boost her career tally of world championship gold medals to 12.
Carrington was a boat length clear of the field in the K1 500m, with Croatia's Anamaria Govorcinovic 1.28 seconds behind in second and enjoyed virtually the same margin in the shorter event.
Sure, fields always look a bit different in a post-Olympics year, as some competitors take a sabbatical, but Carrington still bested 27 other paddlers in the K1 500m and 19 in the sprint event.
And that was despite an unusual buildup, with an extended post-Olympics break, time out for her wedding in March and the unique K1 500m selection duel with Aimee Fisher at the national championships in April.
That's given Carrington confidence that she is on the right track, in the never-ending quest for improvement.
"I guess when you're trying to be the best you can - all the time - and trying to get better there's always going to be things," Carrington told NZME. "You just have to keep learning and changing and growing but also maintaining a lot of those things that really worked, like the foundational basics.
"So we've got some really good grounds with what we know but we also really want to keep pushing and challenging ourselves. Where can I get better? Where can the team get better?."
Carrington was the senior figure amongst an extremely green group, with Alicia Hoskin (22), Olivia Brett (20) and Tara Vaughan (18).
Lisa Carrington celebrates her first world championships gold medal in 2011. Photo / Photosport
She enjoyed that mutually beneficial dynamic. Carrington fed off the energy and support of the younger paddlers, while they were lifted by her presence in the races and soaked up all the lessons they could away from competition.
The rookie K4 500m crew showed their potential with a fifth place.
While Poland were streets ahead of the rest, the Kiwis were only 0.16s behind bronze medallists Mexico and crossed in front of the likes of Hungary and Germany.
Carrington was heartened by that performance but warned there was a long road ahead.
"There's a huge opportunity for the team to individually improve and it's just maintaining that focus for the next 12 months," said Carrington.
"Next year is [Olympic] qualifying year which is a big year. And as we know, the world still gets faster. So as fast as we want to get they'll also get faster. It's just trying to just be so consistent in our training and our learning and what it takes to raise all those little things that make up a good race."
In the K2 500m, Carrington and Hoskin were pipped by 0.02 for bronze by Belgium, with Poland and Germany claiming the top two places. The developing Kiwi duo don't yet have the slick combination that Carrington and Caitlin Ryan engendered over several years, but there is promise.
"I love paddling with her," said Carrington. "If we can just tighten up as a crew, we can make things better."
Carrington has a few weeks off – with some long awaited family time – before the squad resumes training in September.
Lisa Carrington gold medals at the Canoe Racing world championships
