Nearly three weeks on and the glitter still hasn’t settled on a remarkable 2024 Olympic Games for the New Zealand Canoe Sprint team. Paris 2024 was one of the most successful campaigns in the history of New Zealand kayaking with the team bringing home an impressive haul of three gold medals and establishing new milestones that will be celebrated for years to come.
We caught up with Canoe Racing New Zealand General Manager of Performance, Nathan Luce to look back at just a few of the spectacular highlights and results from the NZ Canoe Sprint team in Paris 2024.
New Zealand tops the Medal Table
The New Zealand team swept the women’s kayaking events, securing three gold medals and topping the medal table in the Canoe Sprint programme. This is astonishing for a small country against the traditional powerhouse nations of canoe racing such as Hungary, Germany and Canada.
Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Brett and Tara Vaughan – Gold in Women’s K4 500m
New Zealand became just the fourth country ever to win this event at the Olympics since 1984 and the first non-European country to take home gold.
Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin – Gold in Women’s K2 500m
New Zealand is the only country other than Hungary to win back-to-back Olympic titles in this event, with a commanding 2-second margin of victory, one of the largest since the event first became part of the Olympic Programme in 1960. Alicia Hoskin’s remarkable achievement of winning two gold medals at a single Games place her alongside Lisa in an elite group of New Zealand’s best athletes.
Lisa Carrington- Gold in Women’s K1 500m
Lisa Carrington continued her unmatched legacy with a powerful solo performance in the K1 final, setting a new Olympic record on her way to her 8th gold medal. With this victory, Lisa is now tied for the most gold medals won (8) by a kayak athlete and sits only behind US swimmer Katie Ledecky and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina (both with nine gold medals) in the list of most decorated female Olympic athletes across all sports.
Nathan Luce, reflected on the campaign, saying, “It’s incredible to see what our athletes achieved over the five days of racing. For a country with relatively few full-time paddlers, we’ve proven that New Zealand can compete at the highest level and win on the world stage. To see our country at the top of the medal table in sprint is something that our team and Aotearoa should be proud of.”
Historic Achievements in the K4
Paris 2024 was a history-making event for New Zealand in many aspects but the success of the K4 boats stood out.
For the first time in history, both the men’s and women’s K4 teams competed at the same Olympics, with both teams qualifying for the A finals. It has been 40 years since a Men’s K4 boat has been in an Olympic final (Los Angeles 1984).
New Zealand hadn’t had a men’s K4 compete at an Olympics since 1992, and the first women’s K4 crew didn’t qualify until 2016, demonstrating the development of the NZ K4 programme over the last few years.
This crew was the first women’s K4 to win an Olympic medal, let alone a gold medal, and the men’s K4 500m team secured an 8th place finish, marking a resurgence in New Zealand’s men’s kayaking at the Olympic level.
“Our three new Olympic Champions – Alicia, Tara, and Olivia – along with Dame Lisa, have set a new benchmark for our sport.” Nathan Luce continued. “The success of our women’s team and development of the men’s team is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.”
Depth of talent sets up exciting future
Paris 2024 saw Aotearoa field its largest-ever Olympic Canoe Sprint team with six women and four men qualified.
Nine out of the 10 kiwi athletes reached an A final, securing five top eight results.
World record holder Aimee Fisher narrowly missed the podium, finishing 4th in the Women’s K1 500m event, a remarkable 1st and 4th placing for New Zealand in this event.
Luce reflected “While it was heartbreaking for Aimee to miss out on the podium by a fraction of a second, having both Lisa and Aimee in the A Final is yet another indicator of how far our women’s program has come over the past decade.”
Tara Vaughan, at just 20 years old, became one of the youngest ever NZ athletes to win an Olympic Gold medal.
An incredible and exciting feature of the team is that five of these Olympians are under the age of 25 years, setting a strong platform for upcoming Olympic cycles.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 cycle, Luce remarked, “The future is bright. With three of our A-final athletes being under 23, the next generation of New Zealand kayakers is already making their mark. I’m hopeful that these results will inspire young athletes across the country to take up kayaking and continue this incredible legacy.”
Dame Lisa Carrington grows her astonishing legacy
Dame Lisa won her 8th gold medal and 9th Olympic medal in Paris, courtesy of her 3 golds across the K1, K2 and K4 events. To have one athlete clean sweep all events is unheard of, such is the nature of team boats compared with individual boats, but the dominant yet humble nature of Lisa is what sets her apart.
Already New Zealand’s most successful Olympian heading into Paris, Lisa is now in another stratosphere, and is unquestionably one of the greatest athletes in the world.
However, her biggest legacy might be the profile she has given the sport of kayaking in New Zealand and the work she has done within the women’s kayaking team to grow the depth and talent. The K2 duo’s performance was nothing short of dominant, and the composure and focus of the young K4 crew throughout the competition was exemplary.
Pretty impressive stuff from “the girl from Ōhope”, as she describes herself.
Looking ahead to LA
The success in Paris is expected to inspire the next generation of paddlers, with Canoe Racing New Zealand already looking forward to the upcoming summer season and ensuring more opportunities for more kiwis to try kayaking. The organisation anticipates increased participation as a result of the growing profile and interest following the Games, and with pathways and experiences possible through CRNZ kayak clubs, local schools and a range of events, the sport is ready to capitalise.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have marked a new chapter in New Zealand’s Olympic kayak history. With an extraordinary blend of experience and emerging talent, the team’s achievements have set a new standard for success in canoe sprint, and the future looks incredibly promising as we build towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
As New Zealand’s kayak team returns home following well-deserved breaks, they do so with their heads held high, having not only met but exceeded the high expectations placed upon them. The canoe racing community and wider NZ public is looking forward to celebrating their success at Paris 2024, which has solidified New Zealand’s place among the elite in the world of canoe racing.
Canoe Racing New Zealand would like to thank all the athletes, their families, friends, and clubs for their work and support of the team in Paris and over the last 3 years. A special mention needs to be made to the wider squads including reserves and non-selected athletes for their roles and contributions to the success of the team. We must make a special thank you to High Performance Sport NZ and our partners for whom we are very appreciative. Lastly, but very importantly, we thank our coaches (and their families) who go above and beyond every day to enable our athletes to achieve on the world stage.
