The sport's bosses, including chief executive Paula Kearns, should slip into lobbying mode about now. Sport NZ will make decisions on which sports it will "target" with investment over the next four years and which ones will have to fight for a chunk of the contestable pot.
Of the six targeted Olympic sports, triathlon looks vulnerable and there should be a stewards' inquiry if swimming retains its favoured status.
"Obviously for people above me [at Canoe Racing New Zealand], this is important," said coach Gordon Walker, "but I prefer to look at the performance and what it means to her as an individual. But you know what it's like in New Zealand, the Olympic sports ... are minority sports and very much at the mercy of your results at an Olympic level, so obviously it bodes well."
Walker thinks her win will inspire more kids, particularly those in surf lifesaving, to take up the sport, but most importantly, he thinks it will inspire Carrington to become even better than she already is.
"She's the one who did all the hard work, who got up early in the mornings and sacrificed, not just the past couple of years, but since she was 13 or 14."
