DAY 3 RESULTS: WORLD CUP 3, 5 JUNE 2016, MONTEMOR
A perfect end to the World Cup for Lisa.
Lisa Carrington added another Gold to her World Cup medal haul winning the Senior Women’s K1 500m A Final in Day 3 at Montemor-O-Velho.
Going against the undisputed favourite did not stop the rest of the athletes from putting their all into the race.
Canadian Emilie Fournel was quickest out of the blocks, leading the race right up to the 250m mark, with Lisa and Ewelina right beside her. Lisa put her foot on the gas, pulling away to finish over a boat length in front in 1:48.364 sec, 1.628sec in front of Spela Janic of Slovenia (1:49.992). Ewelina Wojnarowska of Poland (1:50.024) placed third and in doing so gained her spot in the Polish Olympic Team for Rio. Emilie Fournel could not keep up her cracking pace, arriving close behind in forth (1:50.192). Danata Kozak, who took Gold in Duisburg, did not race.
Lisa looked like she held nothing back. A light crosswind helped her achieve the quick time.
"This final, I was able to have a better start, have a little bit more energy in the first 50m of my race and then just get into some rhythm," she said.
"Ultimately I was operating at 100 percent of where I am right now but obviously we don't refine for these events - we just refine enough to be able to compete well and learn from them," Lisa said.
The photo finish of the WK1 500m A Final showing Lisa well in front.
Lisa will spend the next few weeks in Portugal analyzing the races with coach Gordon Walker, and training with Matty McDowell, before heading to Spain for a final pre-Olympic training camp.
The win brings her World Cup tally to three Golds and one Silver over Two rounds (having raced Round One in Germany and Round Three in Portugal, skipping Round 2 in the Czech Republic).
What’s so impressive is Lisa’s positive attitude and unstoppable focus. New Zealand kayaking is fortunate to have such a successful and well-rounded athlete for its up-and-coming paddlers to aspire to.
“I'm just really happy to be challenged and having that carrot on the end of the stick, trying to chase something and just looking forward, always on the attack, trying to work harder. That's all you can ask for, that type of motivation." Lisa says.
Watch the WK1 500m A Final here
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