New Zealand athletes Lisa Carrington and Alicia Hoskin achieved a spectacular victory in the women’s canoe sprint K2 500 final, defeating some of the world’s top paddlers.
The pair led from the very first stroke and won by an impressive margin of 2.11 seconds. In canoe sprinting, such a margin is remarkable, as races are often decided by fractions of a second. The race for third place was so close that one of the Hungarian crews and a German team ended up tying, even after times were measured to thousandths of a second.
For Carrington, this win marked her seventh Olympic gold medal, a record spanning four Olympic Games. Alicia Hoskin, who also won gold in the women’s K4 500 race with Carrington just the day before, now joins the prestigious group of New Zealanders with multiple Olympic gold medals.
Carrington and Hoskin finished the race in 1 minute 37.28 seconds, with the second-place Germans trailing at 1 minute 39.39 seconds. These results highlight how decisive their victory was, as the New Zealanders surged ahead at the halfway point and maintained their lead until the end.
Earlier in the day, Carrington and Hoskin secured their spot in the final by winning their semi-final. Carrington expressed feeling nervous before the race, knowing the challenges of delivering a winning performance in a final. However, she was confident in their preparation and partnership, saying, “We had the courage to lean on each other and the team.”
Hoskin emphasised the importance of their strategy and preparation, especially when facing tough conditions like the strong winds they had trained for on Lake Pupuke. Their experience with different wind conditions helped them handle the race’s challenges.
Lisa Carrington is like the best rower in the world. 😀