Kayaking: Champion Lisa Carrington keen for triple assault on Olympics

New Zealand canoe/kayak Olympic and world champion Lisa Carrington at a training session on Lake Pupuke. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Kayak champion Lisa Carrington is considering tackling three disciplines at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

With three Olympics medals to her name - back-to-back K1 200m sprint crowns, and bronze in the K1 500m in Rio last year - Carrington wants to explore whether chasing success in three events at the same Olympics is viable. It certainly doesn't guarantee three medals in 2020 but given her record, and that she'll still be in her prime, only a fool would discount the prospect.

The only New Zealander to have won three medals of any colour at one Games was another paddler, Ian Ferguson, who bagged golds in the K1 500m, K2 500m with Paul MacDonald and as part of the winning K4 1000m quartet at Los Angeles in 1984. Carrington is already one of just 12 athletes to have won three or more Olympic medals, but she's in search of more challenges.

"I'd love to be able to do three," Carrington said. I'll see how it goes but it would be really good to test it at some stage."

Part of the issue is the scheduling of events at the Olympics. Hungarian multi-Olympic medallist Danuta Kozak won the K1 500m, K2 500m and K4 500m at the Rio Olympics. But Carrington denied she'd given that much thought in terms of a template for how she might approach it.

For example, Carrington happily admits the K1 200m is dear to her heart - "I love that race" - and whether she would physically be able to fit that into a plan with other suitable events is a challenge.

This season, as part of a plan to freshen things up, Carrington has been racing the K4 with a talented group. There was some curiosity over whether this was a one-season plan to mix things up or could lead to a longer arrangement. Carrington made it clear she's relishing the camaraderie in the boat.

"I've only raced one international K4 [before this year] and that was six or seven years ago," Carrington said. "In a team you share the responsibilities and you also bring different attributes to the team. It's an exciting time to be coming together."

Carrington made it clear she wants to do more than she's done in the past.

"I'm really open to expanding that and being part of a team boat, whatever that is. Hopefully we can go on from what we're doing this year. I don't ... want it to stop after this year."

The women's team arrive back home this week for a training block ahead of the world championships in Racice, Czech Republic in August.