Aimee Fisher has given her New Zealand teammate Dame Lisa Carrington a rare defeat at top level on the final day of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged, Hungary.
Fisher won the K1 500m race by 0.33 of a second ahead of Carrington who is the current Olympic champion and had previously won the race at four World Cups.
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The pair were well out in front of all other competitors for the majority of the race with Belgium's Hermien Peters a further 2.79 seconds back.
It was in the last quarter of the race when Fisher pulled away with a strong burst after Carrington had the lead by 1.36 seconds at the halfway mark.
Fisher, had walked from the New Zealand team in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics after a dispute withe the sports organisors, but well and truly announced her return to top competition with a strong burst to relegate Olympic and world champion Carrington to second
.
Both paddlers went under the previous world best time.
“When I was lining up, I just wanted to be courageous, and I wanted to paddle beautifully, and light up my own lane," said the Bay of Plenty 29-year-old.
“And I think I did that. I didn’t panic, I stayed calm. I could hear everyone cheering us on, I could hear my name being called, I felt like I could hear everyone back home, and it was like there was this love pulling me to the finish line.
“There were definitely some tears afterwards. It was a really special moment. It’s been tough, I feel like I have walked through fire at times, but it’s transformed me as a person and as an athlete. It’s been a good ride.”
Another World Cup regatta will be held in Poland later this month before Fisher and Carrington can potentially go up against each other for gold at the Paris Olympics in August.
Overall, New Zealand finished third as a nation with two gold and one silver behind hosts Hungary and China.