Dame Lisa Carrington says "it's pretty enticing to continue" after she claimed a sweep of three Olympic golds at Paris in the K1 500 final today.
Pitted in a much-anticipated 'showdown' with fellow Kiwi Aimee Fisher, Dame Lisa dispensed with that obstacle with a blistering start, but still had to come from behind for the eighth gold of her spectacular career.
Carrington found herself trailing Hungarian veteran Tamara Csipes halfway down the waterway, but put more than a second on her rival over the final 250 metres to smash an Olympic record that had stood almost 30 years in 1m 47.36s.
Csipes held second from Dane Emma Jorgenson, with fast-finishing Fisher missing the podium by just 0.15s in fourth.
The Kiwi completed a trifecta of victories (Source: SKY)
The result confirms what everyone probably guessed coming into this regatta -— Carrington deserves to be regarded as one of the great Olympians from any country in any sport.
"I couldn't really see her [Csipes]," she told Sky Sport. "I just knew that. over the week. I had been keeping my eye on her, and she's been paddling incredibly well with her crews in the K2 and K4.
"I always knew she would be a massive competitor, as well as Emma, who got third, and Aimee. I've just got to stick to my own gameplan and trust my fitness - that's what I did."
Taking questions back in the media zone later, Carrington was asked what's next for her.
"It's pretty enticing to continue after this one, yeah I will just get home and see my dog and get grounded," she said smiling.
Carrington, who managed a similar hat-trick of victories at Tokyo three years ago, substituted the K4 for the now-defunct K1 200 this time around, adding a new dimension to her development.
Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher share a moment after the K1 500 final. (Source: Photosport)
"I'm incredibly privileged to come away with something like that, but also wanting to perform to my best and strive for excellence has also given me a lot of growth over the last 12 years," she said. "It's amazing.
"You put goals out there to try to win, because everyone who turns up here wants to do that, but it's more than the medals for us.
"No matter the result at the end of the day, we — as a team — have grown and done amazing things to together. I feel so privileged to be in this position."
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The outcome boosts New Zealand's medal tally to 16, including seven golds. We need just one more victory to match the eight gold achieved at Los Angeles 1984.
The Kiwis need another four medals to repeat their haul from Tokyo 2020.
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