Carrington back on the water

Double Olympic champion Lisa Carrington is the star attraction at the Blue Lake 2 regatta in Rotorua this weekend as the four-time Halberg Sportswoman of the year makes her eagerly awaited return to competition.

The 31-year-old paddling ace last competed at the 2020 New Zealand canoe sprint championships in February when she claimed decisive wins in both the K1 200m and K1 500m finals, before the global Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the prospect of any international competition for the year.

Carrington (Eastern Bay) is the reigning world K1 200m and K1 500m champion and will seek to produce another top-quality display on Lake Tikitapu, although given the outstanding quality of the opposition on show the 10-time world champion will need to be at her best.

Also looking to make an impact in today’s open women’s K1 200m and the K1 500m – which concludes tomorrow – is Caitlin Ryan, a 2017 K2 500m world champion alongside Carrington and former owner of the world best time for the K1 500m distance.

Another strong contender this weekend will be Aimee Fisher (Hawke’s Bay), a former under-23 K1 200m and K1 500m world champion, who finished runner-up behind Carrington in the K1 200m the national championships this year. Fisher performed well at the Blue Lake 1 – the first national regatta of the season – claiming an impressive K1 200m and K1 500m double.

Also competing in both open women’s K1 events is 2018 world K2 200m and K4 200m silver medallist Kayla Imrie (Mana) and rising talent Alicia Hoskin (Poverty Bay), who reached the world championship K2 500m A final alongside Ryan last year.

A strong elite men’s squad will also take to the water across in Rotorua in which the main prizes on offer will be the open men’s K1 200m and K1 1000m events.

At Blue Lake 1 in October, Kurtis Imrie (Mana) won the K1 500m and K1 1000m and he will once again be the man to beat over the classic distance.

His 2019 world championships K2 1000m partner, Max Brown (Whanganui), was impaired by a sickness bug at Blue Lake 1 but he too will be a major factor.