Kiwis clinch golden World Cup hat-trick

New Zealand paddlers Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher bagged the country’s second and third golds of the World Cup regatta at Montemoro-Velho, Portugal, last night.

The pair won the K2 200m sprint, clocking a slick 36.563s to head home Portugal’s Joana Vasconcelos and Francisca Laia by 0.869s. Carrington and Fisher had gone into the final as fastest qualifier after a slick heat win. Ukraine took third, with the second New Zealand combination of Kayla Imrie and Briar McLeely crossing fourth in 38.780s.

Soon after, Carrington and Fisher were out in front again, dominating the K2 500m final, winning by two lengths in 1m 41.706s. The Portuguese pair again took silver with Hungarians Noemi Lucz and Zsofia Szenasi third. The second New Zealand crew of Rebecca Cole and Kim Thompson finished seventh in 1m 47.730s.

Those titles followed Caitlin Ryan’s fine performance in winning the K1 500m title on Saturday night.

Ryan, a member of the K4 crew who finished fifth in last year’s Rio Olympics, produced a strong performance to win in 1m 47.484s, leading from start to finish. Slovenian paddler Spela Janic took second in 1m 49.439s. Ryan’s time gave the world record a real shake. That mark is 1m 47.066s, set by Germany’s Nicole Reinhardt in 2011. It is the discipline in which three-time Olympic medallist Carrington won bronze in Rio.

New Zealand’s squad comprises eight women and no men, a clear sign of where the strength in the sport lies.