Fisher-Carrington Paris showdown looms
Kiwi world champions could both paddle for gold in K1 Olympic final
Aimee Fisher is going to the 2024 Olympics, with the prospect of a headline-grabbing duel against Dame Lisa Carrington in Paris.
Fisher and Danielle McKenzie won the K2 500m Oceania qualifier at Penrith Lakes in Sydney yesterday, booking two more places for New Zealand at the Games.
It’s a massive boost for the sport in this country. Not only will New Zealand be able to send a larger team but the result also means Fisher can compete in the K1 500m category, along with Carrington.
Fisher is rated one of the world’s best solo paddlers — and one of the few able to beat Carrington in recent years — which will make for a compelling event in the French capital.
Yesterday’s results are provisional — and selection needs to be ratified by the International Canoe Federation and New Zealand Olympic Committee — but it could set up a scenario that stops the nation, if Carrington and Fisher reach the final.
Fisher didn’t have an opportunity to directly qualify in the K1 via the world championships last year, with regulations allowing only one spot per country and Carrington winning the national trials.
But yesterday was the secondchance route. While Canoe Racing New Zealand have yet to confirm squad members — with trials next month — it is accepted Fisher, who claimed world championship gold in 2021, will be the other K1 entry. It will be only the second time there have been two Kiwis in the women’s K1 field, after Caitlin Regal joined Carrington in Tokyo.
Fisher and McKenzie, who only teamed in July, put together an impressive race yesterday.
Despite the pressure of the occasion, they started well and extended their advantage, with the result never in doubt against Australia’s Jemma Smith and Jasmine Locke.
The Kiwis crossed the line in
1m 44.41s, well ahead of the Aussies, who were almost six seconds back.
The result vindicates Fisher’s decision in October to not trial for a K4 spot, with that boat already qualified. It was a brave call but the
29-year-old wanted to focus on her K2 and K1 work and knew a third discipline would compromise that.
“K1 is still a really big dream,” Fisher told the Herald last week.
“I’ve been dreaming about the Olympics since I was 12 years old and have some pretty big goals. I just had to go with what felt true to me. I think there was a few people that were like, ‘oh, yeah, this is risky’.”
It meant there was no room for error yesterday but that was a chance she was willing to take.
Now Fisher can look forward to Paris, eight years on from her debut Games in Rio, after pulling out of the programme in 2020 following a dispute with the national body.
Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie also provisionally booked two quota spots in the men’s K2 500m with a second placing (Australia had already qualified), while there could be a further two men’s seats available after James Munro and Kacey Ngataki edged Samoa in the C2 500m event.