KEY POINTS:
She might be only 17 and in her first year of competitive kayaking but Lisa Carrington is endorsed by one of the greats.
"She has unbelievable talent," said four-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Ferguson.
"She's still really young but she has incredible technique and a natural feel for the water. She's still a junior but is actually on pace with the top seniors.
"Lisa is certainly the biggest talent we've got at the moment."
The Whakatane High School student hopes to make a big splash on the junior circuit in Europe. Carrington, who lives at Ohope, made the K1 500 final at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in January. She posted a personal best of 1m 59.86s just seconds slower than the best performances of New Zealand's top senior women.
"I think I can shave seconds off that," she said. "I can improve my strength and there are probably some flaws in my technique."
Not too many though, if you listen to Ferguson.
Carrington came into the sport with fellow Bay of Plenty paddler Jaimee Lovett when they were looking at ways to improve their surf lifesaving skills.
They compete in K2 events together and their talent was identified at a regatta in Rotorua less than a year ago.
Lovett has since moved to Auckland and the North Shore club, where Carrington will join her next year. Both have the London Olympics as their goal.
Ferguson said Carrington was a possibility if she kept improving.
"She wouldn't be good enough for Beijing yet but I wouldn't put it past her," he said.
