Photographer Vera Bucsu was on hand for CRNZ at the Sea Forest Waterway to capture the magic of New Zealand’s spellbinding performance at Tokyo 2020. Here are a selection of a few of her favourite images and why she loves them.
1 – Alicia Hoskin and Teneale Hatton
“I really like these type of images, where you can really feel the action with the water splashing. We can see the kayaker’s expressions quite close up but it is also a wide enough angle to get a good feel about what Alicia and Teneale might be experiencing in the boat. I love our team uniform, the long sleeves. It was very feminine yet powerful.”
2 – Lisa Carrington
“When we often see podium photos it is of the athletes’ smiling, expressing both pure joy and relief. Those are, of course, fantastic images but I like this one because I feel it sums up the amount of work she had done to reach the top of the podium. I think it epitomises that moment in time. I also like the fact Lisa is wearing the mask. That was such an integral part of what we all had to go through in Tokyo.”
3 Max Brown
“I always love those images we can capture as photographers when we can steal the moment from an athlete. Is Max aware of where the photographers are? Is it for the people on the side of the bank more generally? I wanted to ask those questions but maybe they are best left unanswered. I love the fact he is expressing so much emotion by looking straight into the camera. It was such a lucky moment for me that I managed to capture this image.”
4 -Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie
“This image summed up the support and camaraderie between not only Max and Kurtis but within the whole New Zealand team. Given that in Tokyo the athletes did not have the support of friends and family it was a million times more important they supported one another. This image, I think, reveals this support.”
5 – Lisa Carrington
“This was on the pontoon after Lisa won the K1 500m and the reason I like it is she is sitting there like a queen with the towel hanging from her shoulders like a regal cloak. There was a lot of people by the pontoon around her so I had to wait for a while to steal this moment.
“I love everything about it. The relief on her face and how she looks so radiant. She often does not give much away with her emotions, but this is one of those times. It is a powerful yet a beautiful image.”
Images: Vera Bucsu
