Canoe Racing NZ fully accepts the decision of the IOC and the Japanese Government to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to 2021.
In these unprecedented times of uncertainty and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the athletes, the decision will give better clarity and some respite.
From a CRNZ perspective our challenge remains the same and we will continue to work with our athletes, their coaches and support teams to best prepare our athletes for an Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which will now take place next year.
Gordon Walker and our world-class coaching team have been working diligently to ensure our athletes have trained in the best possible way in a fast-moving and increasingly challenging environment. This will continue to be the case during the four-week lockdown in New Zealand from midnight tonight.
Canoe Racing NZ CEO Tom Ashley said: “Challenging times like these provide a real insight into people. It’s been amazing to see how our team has responded to this situation. Gordon and Tim Brabants (coach) have done an awesome job of leading our athletes into this period of lockdown, ensuring that everyone has what they need to do when they can. Likewise, our athletes, our whole staff and our partners from HPSNZ and Sport NZ have worked together with calm, composure and professionalism. Whilst our context is changing, our task remains the same and we will work together to find innovative ways of achieving our goals.”
New Zealand’s two-time Olympic gold medallist and ten-time world champion Lisa Carrington said via an Instagram post: “As we all know decisions that impact so many people need to be well thought out and considered. The impact of Covid-19 on our world has meant we have to make changes to look after each other. I will be training as best to my ability over the next month in isolation along with many other athletes. We are now going into a new normal, so please look after everyone and be kind.”
In these unprecedented times of uncertainty and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the athletes, the decision will give better clarity and some respite.
From a CRNZ perspective our challenge remains the same and we will continue to work with our athletes, their coaches and support teams to best prepare our athletes for an Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which will now take place next year.
Gordon Walker and our world-class coaching team have been working diligently to ensure our athletes have trained in the best possible way in a fast-moving and increasingly challenging environment. This will continue to be the case during the four-week lockdown in New Zealand from midnight tonight.
Canoe Racing NZ CEO Tom Ashley said: “Challenging times like these provide a real insight into people. It’s been amazing to see how our team has responded to this situation. Gordon and Tim Brabants (coach) have done an awesome job of leading our athletes into this period of lockdown, ensuring that everyone has what they need to do when they can. Likewise, our athletes, our whole staff and our partners from HPSNZ and Sport NZ have worked together with calm, composure and professionalism. Whilst our context is changing, our task remains the same and we will work together to find innovative ways of achieving our goals.”
New Zealand’s two-time Olympic gold medallist and ten-time world champion Lisa Carrington said via an Instagram post: “As we all know decisions that impact so many people need to be well thought out and considered. The impact of Covid-19 on our world has meant we have to make changes to look after each other. I will be training as best to my ability over the next month in isolation along with many other athletes. We are now going into a new normal, so please look after everyone and be kind.”
