{"id":4155,"date":"2021-08-03T01:03:57","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T07:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canoeracing.org.nz\/?p=4155"},"modified":"2021-08-03T01:03:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T07:03:57","slug":"regal-performances-in-golden-day-for-kiwi-paddlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uptest.co.nz\/canoeracing\/regal-performances-in-golden-day-for-kiwi-paddlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Regal Performances in Golden Day for Kiwi Paddlers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caitlin Regal was crowned New Zealand’s newest Olympic champion on an historic day at the Tokyo Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

Lisa Carrington also extended her magnificent Olympic legacy on Tuesday in Tokyo, then teamed up with Caitlin to add to the proud history of kayaking gold medallists from this country.
\nAmbitious sporting dreams came to magnificent fruition in the Japanese capital, as the New Zealand Canoe Racing team achieved two gold medals in the space of 72 minutes.
\nCarrington brilliantly claimed the K1 200m \u2013 her third successive Olympic triumph in the sprint event \u2013 before teaming up with Regal for a dominant performance in the K2 500m, as they prevailed over a strong field.
\nIt represents the greatest day for the sport in modern history. The achievements take Carrington into a new stratosphere. With five medals (four gold and one bronze), the Ohope paddler is New Zealand\u2019s most successful female Olympian, while only fellow kayaker Ian Ferguson can match her tally of gold medals.
\nThe 32-year-old is also the second Kiwi, after rower Hamish Bond, to win three successive Olympic golds.
\nCarrington clocked 38.120 seconds in the K1 200m, a new Games record, finishing almost half a boat length ahead of her nearest rival.
\nThe K2 500m final was equally impressive, as Carrington and Regal established an early lead, before a late burst to seal their dominance. Their time of 1.35.785 also bettered the previous Olympic best, as they finished almost a second ahead of Poland.
\nTuesday was a gruelling mental and physical test for Carrington, and a logistical challenge for the wider team, as she faced four races in a little over three hours.
\nBut the years of training, planning and organisation paid off in spectacular fashion.
\n\u201cThere is always a plan but it\u2019s a different thing to execute it,\u201d Carrington told Sky TV. \u201cIt was a huge challenge to be able to stick to that plan through the day and I\u2019m just so fortunate to have Caitlin as such an amazing teammate. To be able to go out there with someone and do what we just did\u2026I\u2019m just super proud of her and our team, because our team have worked so hard as well.\u201d
\nRegal\u2019s emotions were hard to hold back, as the 29-year-old processed the enormity of the moment.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d Regal told Sky TV. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to the day, the team and the planning. We had to bundle together and do what we do on a daily basis. I\u2019m so proud of Lisa, really keeping cool among the massive day.\u201d
\nCarrington was flawless in the K1 200m final. She was the favourite, but it was an extremely strong line up and slightly tricky conditions, as the wind created chop on the water.
\nBut Carrington peaked when it really mattered.
\nShe made a perfect start in lane five, lunging ahead of her rivals in the first few strokes, and built an early lead, which was always going to be unassailable.
\nSpain\u2019s Teresa Portela claimed second (38.883), 0.763 behind Carrington with Emma Aastrand Jorgensen (Denmark) managing 38.901 for bronze.
\nAfter brief celebrations with her team and then the medal ceremony, Carrington rushed back to begin warming up with Regal.
\nThe duo faced a formidable field, with two Hungarian crews, including five-time Olympic champion Danuta Kozak, and experienced combinations from Germany and Poland, among others.
\nBut the 2017 world champions exploded from the start, at one point reaching 22km\/hr in the early stanza.
\nThey maintained their advantage through the middle section, before a surge extended their lead in the last 150 metres. Carrington glanced left and right as they crossed the line, before a celebratory smile as their accomplishment sunk in.
\nThey clocked 46.27 for the first 250m \u2013 0.69 ahead of the Polish crew of Karolina Naja and Anna Pulawska \u2013 crossing the line 0.968 seconds in front of the Europeans (1:36.753), with Kozak and Dora Bodonyi (Hungary) third in 1:36.867
\nEarlier on Tuesday Carrington clocked an Olympic record time of 38.127( lowering it again in the final) to win her semi-final. An hour later she teamed up with Regal in the second K2 500m semi-final, the pair rocketing across the course in a Games record mark of 1:36.724, before improving it again in the decider.
\nCarrington and Ryan are in action again on Wednesday, with the K1 500m heats scheduled from 10:40am local time (1:40pm NZT) and the quarter finals between 3:50pm and 4:11pm NZT.
\nIn other action on Tuesday, Alicia Hoskin and Teneale Hatton continued their steady improvement with a sixth place in the B final of the K2 500m.
\nThe scratch combination, whose main focus in Tokyo is the K4 500m event, had their best race of the regatta so far, clocking 1:41.121.
\nThe New Zealand duo made a good start and stayed with the pack for the most of the race, finishing 2.646 seconds behind the leading Belgium crew.
\nTheir time represented a significant jump from their semi-final, where they managed 1:44.119 to finish seventh.<\/p>\n