The women’s canoe sprint team for the Paris Olympic Games has been confirmed with six athletes set to wear the fern and paddle for New Zealand.
The athletes will compete across the K1, K2 and K4 events at the Games, with New Zealand’s most successful Olympian Lisa Carrington to lead and contest all three disciplines.
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The six-time Olympic medalist will be joined by Gisborne’s Alicia Hoskin in the K2, as the duo look to defend the gold medal won by Carrington and Caitlin Regal at the Tokyo Games.
Carrington and Hoskin will also team up with Games debutants Tara Vaughan and Olivia Brett in the K4.
The quartet go into the Games as World Champions, having last year won New Zealand’s first ever world title in the big boat.Rio 2016 Olympian Aimee Fisher also makes her Olympic return.
She’ll contest the K1 500m, as well as the K2 500 where she’ll be joined in the boat by the bolter of the squad Dunedin’s Lucy Matehaere.
It will be Carrington's fourth Olympic Games and she says it is “such a privilege” to be named on a New Zealand Olympic team.
“For me, every Olympics is about learning, growing, seeing how fast I can go, and also about the amazing people and athletes that I get to paddle with,” said Carrington
“I’m really excited to go to another Olympic Games, this is a great team and I’m looking forward to the competition.”
Debutant Tara Vaughan says that being selected for the Olympic team is a very special moment in her paddling career.
.“As a team, we talk about building the mana of the black boat, which includes our family, friends and supporters, and I’m really lucky to have the opportunity to do that,” said Vaughan.It is the first time New Zealand has ever qualified and named six female canoe sprint athletes for an Olympic Games.
Canoe Racing New Zealand General Manager of Performance, Nathan Luce, said it took a lot of work and effort to get six athletes on the team."It’s been a full team effort, from coaches, athletes, support staff and athletes who were trialing and didn't make the end squad," said Luce.
"It's been a three year process and to see it produce six spots for the Games is special and we’re excited to see what we can do in Paris.
The Olympic canoe sprint events begin in Paris on August 6th and run until August 10th at the new architecturally-designed Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, the first water complex of its kind in Europe.
The full team is:
Dame Lisa Carrington - K1 500, K2 500 (with Alicia Hoskin), K4 500
Alicia Hoskin - K2 500, K4 500
Tara Vaughan - K4 500 (reserve for K2 500)
Olivia Brett - K4 500 (reserve for K2 500)
Aimee Fisher - K1 500, K2 500 (with Lucy Matehaere)
Lucy Matehaere - K2 500 (reserve for K4 500)