For one of the few times in his life, Gordon Walker is lost for words.
The legendary kayaking mentor has just been asked to reflect on his long international career, which stretches back almost two decades, but it proves a difficult task.
“I mean, it’s hard to capture that, to be honest,” he tells the Herald. “If you look back over everything, it’s actually impossible to imagine that this could have happened. It’s beyond your wildest dreams.”
It certainly is – but this is the right time to contemplate. That’s because one of the greatest chapters in New Zealand sporting history has come to an end. Walker, who is arguably our most successful Olympic coach, has decided to step away from his role.
It’s a momentous decision – as Walker has been at the forefront of a golden era for the sport, centred around his work with Dame Lisa Carrington. She is the greatest paddler of her generation – maybe ever – and he has shaped her career since 2010 through an unprecedented partnership in terms of achievement and longevity, as they have consistently reached new peaks and continued to improve.
But it’s not just about Carrington, as Walker has played a principal role in the development of a world-leading programme, while the staggering triumph of the women’s K4 crew at the 2024 Olympics was one of his finest accomplishments.
“His legacy is remarkable,” agreed Canoe Racing New Zealand chief executive Graham Oberlin-Brown.
The decision has been a “difficult” process for Walker, who had been expected to lead the team through to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but he is at peace with it. There is no single reason; he still loves many aspects of the role, but he made a choice.
“There are probably a number of things that contributed to it, but it was more just a feeling within me that said, this is the right time,” said Walker. “I’m going to be sad to leave. I’m going to miss the team a lot, but I’ve made the decision in a good space.”
There is no doubt that the physical, mental and emotional demands have been a factor. Walker remains a hands-on coach – out on Lake Pupuke with his athletes most mornings and has completed more than 10,000 sessions since 2010, with the team training six days a week. There’s also the travel, and Walker says he has probably spent more time with his athletes over the years than with his three teenage children.
“To do this job, it takes 100%,” says Walker. “It’s not 99%. It’s whatever you have, whatever the 100% of you is, whatever you’ve got to give, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve given 100% to this role. To achieve things that are beyond what might normally be possible, that’s what that requires.”
Walker has spent the past week informing his closest circle, admitting that the conversation with Carrington was particularly hard. He went to her house last Sunday to tell her, and it was an emotional time with a few tears shed.
“I don’t know if she was surprised, but I think she was,” said Walker. “We’ve had this partnership for a long time; we’ve spent an incredible amount of time together and [that] has created a special connection.”
Walker, who had a background in multisport and was a three-time Coast to Coast champion, started at Canoe Racing New Zealand as a coaching intern in March 2010. He began working with Carrington in October of that year, and the Ohope product achieved its first world championship success in 2011. That was followed by the K1 200m gold at the London Olympics, then multiple medals four years later in Rio.
The Tokyo Olympics was a triple triumph – with Carrington winning two individual events and teaming up with Caitlin Ryan in the K2 500m before arguably the apex of Walker’s career in Paris, as New Zealand swept the K1 500m, the K2 500m and K4 500m, with the big boat triumph the first since 1984.
Alongside that, there have been numerous medals at World Cups and World Championships, and a broadening of the depth and base. Walker declined to pick a favourite moment – there are too many – but says a lot of the enduring memories are away from the Olympic climaxes.
“It could be a particular training session, or especially when you are away, like a barbecue we had on the side of a lake in Canada. We lit the fire, we were cooking, the whole team’s there...that’s as special to me as a medal.”
Walker doesn’t know what he will do next – “I haven’t got anything planned…my main feeling was to exit in the best way possible” – but is likely to continue working in sport. Firstly, though, he is looking forward to more family time with his wife Viv and children Stella (18), Lola (16) and Freddie (14).
“I picked my [oldest] daughter up from her last exam, and driving home, we were talking and realised that I’ve had the same job since she was in kindergarten,” says Walker.
“Across her entire schooling career, I’ve had this job, and so as a consequence, every single morning when she gets up and goes to school, I was gone. So it’s a new opportunity for me to be around.”
Walker, 53, is expected to continue with CRNZ until March 2026, at the conclusion of the national trials.
“We want to ensure some stability for the team,” said Walker. “The athletes are our number one priority.”
A six-time coach of the year at the Halberg Awards, Walker was also recognised as the coach of the decade in 2020. He has been in charge of the overall women’s programme since 2016. Walker has guided Carrington to nine Olympic medals (eight gold) and 15 world championship titles. On Sunday, Carrington paid tribute to her long-time mentor.
“Being coached by Gordy for the past fifteen years has been both an honour and a privilege,” said Carrington. “He is without question one of New Zealand’s greatest coaches, and I can’t thank him enough for his vision, commitment and belief. I also want to acknowledge the role Gordy’s family played during this time with CRNZ. His wife and their children have been a constant source of support.”
Walker is naturally humble but is proud of his legacy.
“When I look at everything that’s around the team at the moment, with so many resources and so many things that just didn’t exist before, that’s one of the things I’m leaving behind,” said Walker. “The environment is there – we have some incredible things around us – which makes me really optimistic about where the team can go in the future.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.