The title, Lisa Carrington, world canoeing champion, makes perfect sense to Mt Maunganui surf identity John Bryant.
When a bleary-eyed Bryant saw the text on his phone at 4am yesterday confirming the Bay of Plenty paddler had won the K1 200m title at the world championships in Szeged, Hungary, he felt many emotions. Surprise wasn't among them.
As Mt Maunganui Life Guards head coach, Bryant has mentored Carrington from her mid-teens as the talented 22-year-old moved from the surf lifesaving field into competitive flatwater kayaking.
He always rated her ability, and her resolve.
"I was just over the moon when I heard," Bryant said yesterday.
"I've been a believer in her for a long time. Although she's very focused in what she tries to achieve, there's a humbleness she shows to the people who have supported her."
Bryant remembers Carrington returning to the Mount club from Whakatane as a teenager and it wasn't hard to spot she had rare talent.
"Her natural ability for things was fantastic," Bryant said yesterday.
"She was very determined. It was just a bit of self belief that she needed."
Having won a World Cup round in Duisberg, Germany in May, Carrington rattled off wins in both her heat and semifinal before the big race yesterday.
With parents Pat and Glynis in the stands, she became the first New Zealand women's world champion in the sport, clocking a time of 39.998s.
Carrington held off Poland's Marta Walczykiewicz, the 2009 world silver medallist, who clocked 40.472s, with Ukrainian Inna Osypenko-Radomska, last year's silver medal winner, third in 40.670s.
The defending champion, and three-time Olympic champion, Hungary's Natasa Janics was absent, expecting her first child.
Carrington's coach, Gordon Walker, gave high praise.
"Lisa's hard work and dedication over a long period of time has paid off," he said.
"She has been fantastic to coach, is a great listener and has a lot of belief in herself."
Carrington began kayaking in 2006. Now the London Olympics loom next year and she's keen to qualify in two disciplines.
Along with North Shore's Erin Taylor, she finished ninth in the K2 500m final in Hungary. A top-six finish would have put them into the field at London.
Instead they must go to the Oceania championships in Penrith in March. Win there and it's next stop London.
The pair have consistently out-paddled their Australian rivals this year, so the signs are promising.
Carrington, who joined the open squad in 2009, was chuffed, especially at the speed with which she's achieved one of her big goals.
"It's all a bit surreal, but I'm glad to win and am looking forward to competing at the Olympics," she said.
But she hasn't forgotten her surf days; she gets in a couple of carnivals each summer and is the current national surf ski champion.
After months of off-water travails including Sparc looking carefully at its funding arrangements due to dissatisfaction at its coaching structure, Carrington has put a smile back on the sport.