Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher paddled impressively into the semi-finals of the women’s K1 500 today.
The two paddlers are at the top of the ladder in this event, as was shown today when Carrington recorded the fastest heat time of 1min 48.51s and Fisher the next fastest with 1min 49.16s.
Carrington, already a five-time Olympic gold medallist and the defending champion in the K1 500, was pushed quite hard by Selma Konijn of the Netherlands, though she finished with .077s to spare. Fisher quickly separated herself from the field in her race and won by nearly four seconds from Argentina’s Brenda Rojas.
“I tried to race as efficiently as possible,” said Carrington. “I’m mindful of the whole week; it’s awesome to be in all three events.”
She said the winds were variable. “Today we pretty much had a tailwind, whereas yesterday there was a crosswind. You just need to adjust.”
Fisher, who finished fifth in the K4 500 in her only previous Olympic experience, at Rio eight years ago, said it was nice to get the first race under her belt. “At the start line I felt strong, calm and confident. It was good to be out there.”
Asked about her rivalry with Carrington (the two New Zealanders are both rated as strong medal hopes in the K1 500), she said: “It’s a privilege to be part of it. She is the GOAT (greatest of all time) in our sport, a phenomenal athlete. We all owe her a lot for the influence she’s had.”
Fisher said she was a lot more settled than when she appeared at Rio. “I was 21, a newcomer and it was all a bit of a circus and I was just trying to take it all in. I learned that competing at the Olympics is a whole different level.”