Can we mere mortals, watching on in awe, fathom how gigantic and taxing Lisa Carrington’s triumph was on the Sea Forest Waterway on Tuesday?
The phenomenal Kiwi paddler won four Olympic canoe sprint races within four hours. And they weren't just any races: two Olympic semifinals and two finals, and in two different boats.
And for the 32-year-old’s unrelenting efforts at Sea Forest Waterway, she walked away with two gold medals, sharing one of them with a new Olympic champion, Caitlin Regal.
Carrington’s medal haul from the K1 200m and K2 500m lifts her career tally to five medals from three Olympic Games. It puts her equal with two other legendary paddlers Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald, and equestrian Sir Mark Todd, as New Zealand’s most decorated Olympic athletes.
She's also one of only two New Zealanders, along with rower Hamish Bond, to win golds in three consecutive Olympics - and the only one to win it in the same event.
If things work to Carrington’s meticulous plan, she could win two more medals at these Olympics, staking her place in the history books, trailblazing in a field of her own.
Ferguson, it seems, would be quite happy to hand over the mantle he's held for almost 30 years to her. He was thrilled watching Carrington cement her place as one of New Zealand's greatest Olympians on Tuesday.
"I think it's just awesome that a kayaker – someone from my sport – is doing it. It’s the best result I could wish for," he said.
He felt nervous, yet confident the entire time. "Because she made it easy for people watching by taking the lead straight away. I knew it would happen as soon as I saw her go."
Carrington's incredible career has been built around planning, worked out with her coach, Gordon Walker. And their planning had to be pinpoint accurate on day two of her six consecutive days of racing in Tokyo.
In between her semifinals, Carrington could be seen refuelling with snacks underneath an umbrella and draped in cold wet towels.
"There is always a plan, but it’s a different thing to execute it. It was a huge challenge to be able to stick to that plan through the day," she said. "But I guess I’m just so fortunate to have Caitlin as such an amazing team-mate. To be able to go out there with someone, and do what we just did, I’m just super proud of her. And of our team, because our team has worked so hard as well.”
Carrington’s first final in the K1 200m, an event she hasn’t lost a race in for almost 10 years, was never in doubt. After setting an Olympic best time in her semifinal, she bolted out to nearly half-a-boat-length lead from the get-go in the final. And nothing had changed when she crossed for her third consecutive Olympic gold medal in her specialist event, in yet another Olympic record of 38.120s.
Her recovery time of just over an hour before the K2 500m final was shortened further as she had to attend her medal ceremony. In a lovely Kiwi kind-of moment, BMX Olympic silver medallist and IOC member Sarah Walker presented Carrington with her gold.
If the K2 500m semifinal victory with Regal earlier on Tuesday was anything to go by, the New Zealanders looked strong prospects for a medal.
And any doubts over whether Carrington could back up her solo final performance were quickly allayed. The pair had an outstanding start, again leading the field from the outset, and won in an Olympic best time of 1m 35.785s ahead of Poland and Hungary. It may have been Carrington’s fourth Olympic medal, but it was her first in a team event, and it was Regal’s first Olympic medal of any hue.
“It’s pretty incredible, but I think this is a testament to the day and the team and the planning," said Regal (nee Ryan). "And I think we were clear we had to really bundle together, do what we do on a daily basis, and that was come together and work together.
“I’m so proud of Lis really keeping it cool amongst the massive day. But also the planning that went into getting to this point is part of our result.”
Carrington's three Olympic medals have all been in the K1 boat (she won bronze in the K1 500 in Rio 2016), which made winning with Regal special.
"Just to even get an Olympic medal is so special, and I know how hard that is from what I’ve done individually. But to be able to do that with a team-mate and racing against the best countries in the world - to think that we were able to get on top of the podium today is just so special," she said.
Like Ōhope-raised Carrington, Regal grew up at the beach. In Orewa, north of Auckland, she was a competitive swimmer, and learned to paddle through surf lifesaving, taking out numerous national titles. She was in her 20s when she first tried canoe sprint, and has gone on to claim gold and silver world championship medals. She was part of the young New Zealand team at the Rio Olympics who were fifth in the K4 500m.
Neither athlete has time to soak up the glory in the hot Tokyo sun, as they both return to the water on Wednesday for the K1 500m heats, where they will be competing against one another.
It should be a great contest as Carrington is the reigning champion over the longer sprint distance, but Regal set a world record in the K1 500m in 2018.
But it also won’t be a walk in the park for the Kiwis, as they'll have the current world record holder, Hungarian Danuta Kozak, paddling against them. The K1 500m is her specialty event and she already has five Olympic golds to her name.
Carrington and Regal will have one more event after that, joining forces with Alicia Hoskins and Teneale Hatton in the K4 boat over 500m on Friday. (Hoskins and Hatton finished sixth in the K2 500m B final on Tuesday).
Carrington now holds 17 world champion medals,10 are gold, and five Olympic medals. New Zealand will soon learn if she can add two more to her unbelievable tally.
