London Olympics 2012

21 August 2012

Our own Olympic hero Lisa Carrington arrived home this morning, gold medal in hand, to a warm and rapturous welcome in Auckland.

Welcome home Lisa.... we're glad to have you back!

(photo: Lisa being interviewed at the airport)

Aged only 23, Lisa showed the world what she’s made of - beating out a host of much more experienced and decorated paddlers in this event. Her biggest concern Hungarian Natasa Douchev-Janics, four time Olympic medallist with an impressive 18 World Championship titles, claimed bronze, and Ukaranian Inna Osypenko-Rodomska took the silver.

Lisa is looking forward to her homecoming. “I’ve been away for three months and have been really missing everyone back home. It’s been such an intense experience but all that hard work has paid off. All those times when I missed out on parties or had to head home early for training the next morning … it’s all been worth it. I’ve had such wonderful support. I can’t wait to see everyone and share this with them.”

11 August 2012

LISA CARRINGTON WINS GOLD

She’s World Champion, Oceania Champion and can now add Olympic Champion to her impressive list of titles! After what has got to be the race of her life, aged only 23, Lisa Carrington beat out arch-rival Hungarian Natasa Douchev-Janics (45.128) who placed third behind Ukranian Inna Osypenki-Rodomska (45.053) in the K1 200m Olympic canoe sprint final.

Lisa’s performance was all the more remarkable in that she has only been racing the 200m as her specialist event for just under 18 months, becoming World Champion in 2011 which shot her into the kayaking spotlight and made her a New Zealand household name. Now based in Auckland Lisa hails from Ohope and her home club Eastern Bay Canoe Racing Club is ecstatic with her win as are her training partners at North Shore Canoe Club where she is now based.

Says Lisa “I lined up at the start thinking ‘I’m just gonna go as hard as I can’. I just did what comes naturally for me and took it stroke by stroke. I knew I had everyone from back home behind me and I gave it my all”.

Her Coach Gordon Walker is over the moon with Lisa’s performance. “She has shown enormous maturity under immense pressure. She has worked so hard and she didn’t panic at the crunch point. She stuck to her plan, got in front and held on. I couldn’t be more proud!”

And back home her supporters feel the same.

Paula Kearns, CEO of Canoe Racing NZ says “Lisa is the complete package. She is an incredibly talented athlete, hard working, grounded, determined, intelligent and physically blessed. Canoe Racing NZ’s high performance vision is to win more medals at the Olympics and other international events. Today Lisa realised that vision for us. A huge thank you must go to High Performance Sport NZ whose investment and support have made this campaign possible.”

K1 200m Race Results

1st - New Zealand - Lisa Carrington 44.638
2nd - Ukraine - Inna Osypenko-Rodomska 45.053
3rd- Hungary - Natasa Douchev-Janics 45.128
4th - Spain - Teresa Portela Rivas 45.326
5th - Poland- Marta Walczykiewicz 45.500
6th - Russia - Natalia Lobova 45.961
7th - UK - Jess Walker 46.161
8th- Portugal - Teresa Portela 46.549

10 August 2012

Lisa Carrington set the K1 200m Olympic best time in canoe sprint today in her semi final race in a time of 40.528 which makes her the fastest qualifier going into the final tomorrow. As reigning World Champion Lisa was expected to perform well and she certainly didn’t disappoint.

She drew a tough heat coming up against Hungarian four-time Olympic medallist Natasa Douchev-Janics who she faced off against in the recent ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup. Natasa also holds 22 World Championship medals – 18 of them gold. Coming up against Natasa was always going to be an epic battle.

The heat, as expected, saw them neck in neck by the final few seconds of the race and Natasa just pipped Lisa by 0.18 seconds, Natasa taking the race in 41.221, followed by Lisa in 41.401 and Natalia Lobova from Russia in 42.447.

The first semi final showed an explosive performance from Lisa. After a textbook start she had pulled ahead by half way and stormed through in first in an Olympic best time of 40.528 with Spaniard Teresa Portela Rivas in second. Nastasa Douchev-Janics in the third heat had a slow start but quickly picked up her pace to win in 40.570.

Coach Gordon Walker says “We’re really happy with the way Lisa performed today and comfortable that everything is on track for tomorrow’s final. Lisa is just excited to race tomorrow – that’s what she came here for.”

High Performance Manager Grant Restall adds “The atmosphere here is tremendous… the crowd is really vocal and quite a spectacle. The support Lisa is receiving is overwhelming.”

With four of the qualifiers finishing under 41 seconds the final tomorrow (10.14am UKT , 9.14pm NZT) is a must-see and all of New Zealand will be on the edge of their seats for this one!

9 August 2012

WOMEN'S TURN IN THE FINALS

It was the women’s turn to hit the finals in kayak today with the K2 500m canoe sprint A final and the K1 500m B final. The kiwi pairing of Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor gave it their all with a text book start and a mid-pack position down the length of the course. They dropped back slightly however towards the end of the race and were unable to close the gap finishing 7th in a time of 1:46.290. Although they will be disappointed not to have secured a medal they can be proud of their achievement and their improved world ranking gain in the past year. This field was extremely experienced and the New Zealand crew is a relatively young combination having only raced together for the past year.

Canoe Racing New Zealand’s High Performance Manager Grant Restall remarks “It takes time to finesse a pairing like this, with many of the K2 crews having raced together for 6 years or more. For Lisa and Erin their progress in such a short time has been outstanding and credit should also go to Coach Gordon Walker who has obviously played a pivotal role in their improvement.”

All the focus will be on Lisa Carrington tomorrow as she attacks the K1 200m, her specialist event. Grant reports “Our whole focus is now on getting Lisa ready for her K1 200m races and recovery is key. She needs to get out of K2 mode and into K1 mode, and by tomorrow we expect her to be well recovered and her batteries charged at 100% by Saturday’s final. As the reigning World Champion there is naturally a fair expectation that she will perform well but she’s taking it in her stride. “

Womens K2 500m results:
1st Germany Webber/Dietze 1:42.213
2nd Hungary Kovacs/Douchev 1:43.278
3rd Poland Naja/Mikolajczyk 1:44.000
4th China Wu/Zhou 1:44.136
5th Austria Schuring/Schwarz 1:44.785
6th Portugal Vasconcelos/Gomes 1:44.924
7th New Zealand Carrington/Taylor 1:46.290
8th Serbia Moldovan/Moldovan 1:48.941

Not to be overlooked, Teneale Hatton’s performance in the K1 500m B final was tremendous. For this young up-and-comer to place 7th, ahead of Australian Alana Nicholls, is a remarkable achievement, making her 15th in the World in this, her first Olympics. At just 22 years of age there’s still much to come from Teneale. “I was stoked with the first half of my race but a little disappointed with the latter part. However my goal was to see improvement this year and my ranking has certainly done that. Training under Ian Ferguson for the last six months has made a huge difference and I can’t thank him enough. The support from home has also been amazing… thanks everyone.” After a well-deserved break Teneale will be back on the water and commencing her campaign to reach Rio in 2016.

GUTSY PERFORMANCE FROM THE KIWIS
8 August 2012

The Kiwi Men’s K2 crew of Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald showed outstanding form and a gutsy performance in the final of the K2 1000m today. The pair had a good start and settled into their rhythm from the outset.

Darryl says “We felt really strong from the first stroke and established a good tempo. We held our position down the course and by the 250m we were really killing ourselves. We worked hard to control our race and really feel we raced the best race we could!”

Their time of 3:12.117 is a personal best and their staggering burst of speed at the end gave them a New Zealand record. “The support from back home has been just incredible. We’ve had so many great messages and are really grateful for the way everyone has encouraged us.”

Canoe Racing NZ’s High Performance Manager Grant Restall remarks “Our team here in London has been fantastically supportive of each other and the atmosphere here is positive and vibrant. We’re proud of the boys efforts today and are looking forward to the girls racing tomorrow.”

Final results Mens K2 1000m:

1st Hungary - Dombi/Kokeny 3:09.646
2nd Portugal - Pimenta/Silva 3:09.699
3rd Germany - Hollstein/Ihle 3:10.117
4th Australia - Smith/Wallace 3:11.456
5th Sweden - Oscarsson/Nilsson 3:11.803
6th Russia - Medvedev/Ryakhov 3:12.047
7th New Zealand - Fitzgerald/Ferguson 3:12.117
8th Slovakia - Gelle/Vleck 3:12.519

Ben Fouhy raced the B final of the Men’s K1 1000m and was disappointed to finish 6th in the field.

Tomorrow’s A final of the Women’s K2 500m features Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor who have been ‘dark horses’ in this race and will make for compelling viewing. Teneale Hatton also races the B final of the Women’s K1 500m, timetable shown above.

Videos

Womens K2 500m semi - Carrington/Taylor

Mens K2 500m semi - Ferguson/Fitzgerald

7 August 2012

It was the women’s turn to create some heat on the water today with young South Islander Teneale Hatton first up in the Women’s K1 500m. This was the only heat that required dropping a competitor with all other heats going through to the semi, requiring Teneale to beat the Iranian paddler to qualify for the semis. Her game plan was to finish 6th in order to paddle lane 8 in the final, the favoured side of the course today. She did this easily and lined up for the semi an hour later.

The semi-final was another matter altogether with only the top two and next two fastest third-placed paddlers through to the A final. An explosive start placed Teneale well for the first 250m and she gave it all she had to keep up with the pack – a gutsy paddle earning her 5th in a time of 1:54.504 and qualifying her for the B final. For this young paddler in her first Olympics this is a pleasing result and certainly one to store away in the ‘experience bank’. She is rightly “thrilled” with her result and looking forward to racing the B final in two days time.

The K2 500 heats featuring Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor lacked a bit of intensity with all paddlers going straight through to the semis. The kiwis wisely cruised the latter stages of this race to save their energy for the semi.

They drew the toughest of the semis but started steadily and the duo remained mid-pack for the first 250m. The second half of the race required a big push as they fended off the Belarussian crew to earn 4th in a creditable time of 1:42.764 and a place in the A final.

Grant Restall, Canoe Racing NZ High Performance Manager, says “The girls drew the short straw in the semis and had to work hard for their top 4 placing. It was sheer control and pain that got them through in this one … they certainly know they’ve raced an Olympic semi-final! Gordy (Coach, Gordon Walker) has a smile to match the girls. They’re looking forward to a day off racing tomorrow and will come back fighting for Thursday’s final”.

Tomorrow’s final of the Men’s K2 1000m features Steven Ferguson and young team mate Darryl Fitzgerald who will be all business and will no doubt once again have us on the edge of our seats. Ben Fouhy will also feature in the B final of the K1 1000m where he will be gunning for a top placing.

Full Results http://www.london2012.com/canoe-sprint/event/kayak-double-500m-women/index.html

6 August 2012

The New Zealand canoe sprint team hit Olympic water today with Ben Fouhy first up in the K1 1000m. Ben came out strong out of the blocks and paddled a controlled race to place 2nd in a time of 3.35.610 to see him comfortably through to the semi-final.

Unfortunately Ben drew a highly competitive semi field and although he raced a very strong race, fastest overall in the last 250m, his sixth placing in a time of 3:32.572 relegates him to the B final on Wednesday.

Ben was followed by the K2 pairing of Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald who approached the 1000m race with confidence. They paddled strictly according to their game plan finishing strongly in 4th in 3:16.608, to leave them plenty of steam for their semi just 80 minutes later.

Their game plan continued through into the semi-final where they fired out of the blocks and then paddled a steady race all the way. The last 250m saw the Australian and Swedish crews push hard for the top spot while the Kiwis were happy to take third place in a respectable time of 3:15.307 to qualify for the final which is raced on Wednesday.

“We’re really happy with our races” says Steven Ferguson. “Making the final is a huge weight off our shoulders. We paddled the heat with the aim of gaining a good lane draw going into the semi, and just paddled according to our plan throughout. Now we’ll concentrate on preparing for the big one on Wednesday”. His Coach and father Ian Ferguson was just as happy and proud of the boys for sticking to the strategy while Darryl Fitzgerald is thrilled to be racing in the A final of this, his first Olympics.

Tomorrow’s racing features the start of the women’s racing with talented late-comer Teneale Hatton in the K1 500m and the dynamic duo of Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor in the K2 500m.

Teneale, a ‘Mainland’ girl from Queenstown, was introduced to kayaking by her Surf Lifesaving Coach and now resides on the North Shore in Auckland. Her build up to the Olympics was in Italy training under Coach Ian Ferguson alongside the Men’s K2.

Lisa and Erin have been paddling K2 for the past year performing strongly in European competition now making them a very competitive crew. Erin provides the experience in the duo having raced the 2008 Olympics, but Lisa as the first New Zealander to achieve a women’s kayaking world championship title, will be more than pulling her weight in this boat. Coached by Gordon Walker in Munich over the past month, the girls have been showing fine form and are rearing to go tomorrow.

5 August 2012

The lane draws are out (see the race timetable above) and things are starting to ramp up. The boats have all been stickered with the competitor's names and country, and are racked at the course ready to go.

The team all headed off to bed full of excitement knowing Ben Fouhy, Steve Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald are all on the line first thing in the morning (9.30am UK / 8.25pm NZ time). The great performances of the rowing team have been a real inspiration and our guys fully intend to lay it all on the line to get the same outstanding results.

We've loaded the latest photos on our Facebook site and will be updating with results as quickly as we can. Make sure you "like" our page to get results and updates as they happen www.facebook.com/canoeracing

It's game time!!!

3 July 2012

Things at the Olympic kayak village are starting to lift up a notch. There are more and more teams arriving. With Lisa and Erin now arrived, the NZ Kayak Team has its full contingent of paddlers here. Dave Currie arrived at our village and did the official welcome and presented all members a welcome gift of a hand crafted greenstone necklace.

Our training continues around the busy rowing schedule which is under full steam now and great to see them winning some medals. Congratulations to Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan on their fantastic race .... what an inspiration!

Teneale, Darryl, Ian and myself had a rest day in training and took the opportunity to visit the main village in Strafford London. It took us 1.5hr in the bus in light traffic and travelled past such icons as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the giant eye. The main village was an eye opener for Teneale and Darryl who couldn’t believe how big it was and how busy it got. We visited the Kiwi part of the village and Ferg made us a good NZ flat white coffee. The visit gave us a chance to meet a few of the Kiwi Olympic team but most of them were out doing their thing. We got the opportunity to watch the first NZ gold medal then went down to the massive food hall to have lunch. Poor old Darryl just couldn’t decide what to have for lunch as there is a huge selection of foods from right round the world although he was struggling to find the Gisborne selection.

Tomorrow the lane draws come out which is the start in the final lead up and the pressure feels like it is starting to build .... !

31 July 2012

Day two gave us what I understand to be a typical English summer’s day, grey, dull and light rain.

The team isn’t affected by the weather and are getting into their final preparations for their first races. After today, most only have 3 key sessions left but we are still getting up at 5.45am each morning to catch the 6.30am bus from the Kayak village to the course. This is to get the athletes into the right mental and physical state for when they race at 9 to 10am on their race days.

At the moment we have Teneale, Ben, Steve and Darryl in the kayak village and they are getting very familiar with the surroundings. The key areas they have been checking out are the massage area, laundry, athlete area and of course the food hall. Darryl has even been down to the Poly Clinic and had his teeth checked and polished by the Olympic dentist.
Tomorrow Lisa and Erin join the team coming in from Germany. When the full team is assembled into the village we will have our official welcome into the Kiwi Kayak Village with Dave Currie coming out to do this.

Currently with rowing racing at the venue, the kayakers have a temporary area down the end of the warm up lake. Once rowing finishes we move into the main competition area on the main lake. Around the temporary area are padlocks with a lot of sheep and unfortunately the Kiwi’s are copping a lot of flak about our national animal. The worst part is the Aussie’s aren’t even here yet!

29 July 2012

We arrived in London today. For some it was a mere stroll to the village but for others it was an epic journey!

Grant flew in from Frankfurt.
Ben walked in from London.
Ferg did a monster drive from Italy through Dachau Germany to pick up more boats then on through the night catching a 4am ferry to Dover then onto the Kayak Village. He drove 14 hours and had 3 hours of napping. Great effort for the team ... that man deserves a beer!
Steve, Darryl and Teneale arrived at Milan airport at 4am to find their flight was cancelled. They waited round 8hrs for the next available flight then got delayed another hour in Frankfurt. Coming into London they then went into a holding pattern above Heathrow for an extra 30min. Not the best way to start the week, but they're here and that's what matters.
Lisa, Erin, Gordon and James fly in on Wednesday, hopefully with none of the holdups the others experienced.

The boats have been secuity screened and are now allowed in the venue so we hope to start training on the course tomorrow. London is a very busy place but the accommodation we are staying at is great. There is a separate village for Kayak and Rowing closer out towards the regatta course. It is a university normally and we have one block with 3 levels. With some Kiwi rowers on the ground floor and us above.
each member has their own room with ensuite. We are located near the food hall ... bonus!

Stay tuned. We'll try to update you regularly with how we're going in our buildup this week. We start racing on the 5th, schedule below. The team are amped and really wanting to get in amongst it now. Thanks for all the support from home. Keep it coming ... we love it!

For any media queries contact Fiona Fenwick talktome@fionafenwick.com

Photo credit: Getty Images

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