Lockdown reignites Olympic flame
Olympic effort: Powerhouse paddler makes long haul back from wilderness
If it wasn’t for the Covid-19 lockdown last year, Teneale Hatton probably wouldn’t be going to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
While the pandemic has caused all kinds of disruptions for athletes, the nationwide stoppage in March and April 2020 provided the spark for Hatton’s unlikely return to the sport.
After several years in the wilderness, Hatton’s improbable comeback was completed on Friday, when she was confirmed in the women’s canoe sprint team heading to Japan.
Hatton is part of the K4 crew, along with Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin and Caitlin Regal (nee Ryan), with 2016 Olympian Kayla Imrie narrowly missing the cut.
It was an incredibly close call for the K4, as the selectors rotated combinations, with the difference minimal.
“[It was] very small,” said national coach Gordon Walker. “[Sometimes] hundredths of a second. It’s not a case of this boat was miles better than the other boat. At times, it was maybe 16cm between the two boats at the end of 500m — so it was very, very close.”
Hatton, who edged Imrie for the fourth seat, sympathises with her training partner, who will travel to Japan as a reserve.
But it’s also a joyful time for the 2012 Olympian, who virtually gave the sport away after missing the cut for the Rio Games. Hatton returned to her surf ski roots, which also offered more flexibility, alongside her job as a paramedic with the St John Ambulance service.
“I still loved paddling but I just needed something different,” Hatton told the Herald on Sunday. “I started working full-time and travelling with surf ski, so there was a bit more freedom with it.”
Hatton enjoyed success in the ocean events (she won a world title in 2015 and claimed bronze in 2019) and was happy with the balance with her career before a lightbulb moment last March awoke an Olympics dream.
“I guess it was kind of due to Covid,” said Hatton. “I’d been thinking about it for a while, but during lockdown last year, obviously there was no travel, and I was just training away at home.”
As she worked away inside her
I jumped in my K1 and I was like ‘you know what, I love this, I’ll try to give this another whirl’. Teneale Hatton
home gym, Hatton had time to ponder her sporting future.
“As soon as we got out of lockdown, I jumped in my K1 and I was like ‘you know what, I love this, I’ll try to give this another whirl’.”
Hatton met Walker to confirm her interest and began training again, although a hand injury stymied her comeback for a few months.
The 31-year-old admitted she was more focused on the next Olympic cycle rather than Tokyo, aiming to use the time to get herself in the mix for the Paris Games.
“My big plan was looking towards 2024,” said Hatton. “I thought after giving it a solid 12 months, I’d have an idea of where I can go with it.
“I wanted to see if I was going to be able to get back in the mix. It turns out that I can, which is really cool, but it was more a long-term goal.”
In that context, Hatton admitted it was “overwhelming” when she got the Tokyo selection news, immediately conveying the message in a tearful phone call with her parents.
Hatton has taken unpaid leave from her job since last November, to devote herself fully to the six-daya-week training schedule, encompassing 10 sessions on the water as well as gym work.
She was an outsider, given her lack of time in the boat, although the withdrawal of 2016 Olympian Aimee Fischer from the programme last December narrowed the odds.
Hatton, who still holds the K1 1000m world record (set in 2014), also had to adjust to the shorter distances.
“Coming back from especially ocean ski, which is a much longer distance, like 30km, changing to 500m has definitely been a challenge,” said Hatton. “It’s that sprinty, fast-twitch stuff which is taking a bit to get used to.”
At the back of the boat, Hatton and Regal will provide the power from the engine room, with Carrington and Hoskin setting the pace in front. Hoskin and Hatton will also combine as a second boat in the K2 200m, mainly for experience purposes.
“I’m learning every week,” said Hatton. “Every time we jump in the K4, I’m learning and getting more comfortable with it, and I guess that’s exciting. I’m looking forward to the future; I’ve got so much more to learn and to be able to give.”