Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and the NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview the weekend's sport.
Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
Aimee Fisher’s 2024 Olympics destiny will be decided in Sydney on Friday.
Across less than two minutes, on the Penrith lake where Rob Waddell famously won rowing gold in 2000, Fisher and her partner Danielle McKenzie will attempt to qualify for Paris, via the K2 500m race at the Oceania Championships.
The stakes couldn’t be higher, especially for Fisher. The 29-year-old is recognised as one of the world’s best paddlers. In recent years she is one of the only women who has pushed (and beaten) Dame Lisa Carrington, with their domestic rivalry capturing the imagination.
But Fisher didn’t have an opportunity to directly qualify in the K1 via the world championships last year, with regulations allowing only one spot per country and Carrington taking out the national trials. The Rotorua-born paddler also decided not to trial for a K4 spot – with that boat locked in for Paris – as she wanted to prioritise her K2 work, while also maintaining her K1 training schedule over the past few months.
It’s a full “chips in” approach. If Fisher and McKenzie can claim the spot, essentially by beating the young Australian crew of Jemma Smith and Jasmine Locke, there is a double bonus for Fisher.
As well as competing in the French capital in the K2, Fisher would also be part of the K1 field. In the solo event, she would be rated as a definite medal contender – given past deeds - and the prospect of her competing against Carrington would stop the nation.
But if they don’t prevail in Sydney (6pm NZT), the 2021 K1 500m world champion will have to wait until Los Angeles in 2028 for her next Olympics opportunity.
Aimee Fisher wants to continue focusing on the K1 but could join a team boat. Photo / Photosport.nz
“It’s a bit confronting and a bit scary at times,” Fisher told the Herald. “But I really believe we can do this. And either way I just want to race unafraid, just go out there and give it my absolute best and trust that it will be perfect either way.”
“It came down to the number of training sessions that I needed to participate in each week to meet the requirements,” explained Fisher. “I couldn’t commit to that and the K4 girls deserved to have more commitment than I was willing to give.” “It means putting all my eggs in one basket because we had to commit back in October. It wasn’t going to be an option, like worst case scenario if we miss out on this K2 qualification, I couldn’t just fall back into the K4. But I decided to go all in.”
It wasn’t an easy decision – “I had to sit with it for a while” but she is content with her call, saying she had to go with her heart and follow the training schedule she had already planned, splitting the week across the K1 and K2.
Aimee Fisher and Lisa Carrington during a women's K1 500m Canoe Word Championship qualification race in April 2022. Photo / Photosport.nz
“K1 is still a really big dream,” said Fisher. “I’ve been dreaming about the Olympics since I was 12 years old and have some pretty big goals. I just had to go with what felt true to me. There was a few people that were like, ‘oh, yeah, this is risky’.”
“They’ve got something pretty special going on,” said Fisher. “It will be good to see what they can achieve this year. They don’t need me in the boat.”
Fisher added that relations with CRNZ were in a “really good place”, with a lot of progress over the last few years, since she quit the high performance program in 2020 after a standoff with the national body.
Dame Lisa Carrington and New Zealand K4 500m crew celebrate after winning gold at 2023 world championships. Photo / CRNZ
Fisher has been in full training mode since the 2023 world championships, where she finished 9th alongside McKenzie in their first international regatta together.
Like the rest of the team, she didn’t even stop for Christmas Day. After breakfast and presents, she did chin ups and a gym session in her brother’s Wellington home in the morning, before an uninterrupted hour on the stationary assault bike in the afternoon.
“It’s just one of those years, right?,” said Fisher. “You just have to make some sacrifices.”
Fisher and McKenzie are a scratch combination, first jumping in a boat together last July, after McKenzie’s transition from surf ski. Though K2 is complex – “compatibility is a big element, you want to be able to fully express your strength, your power and your technique” they have made a lot of progress.
“It’s tracking really well,” said Fisher.
Friday’s format is intimidating – a one off race and no second chances – but Fisher takes confidence from their respective experience in high pressure competitions.
“It’s intense but Danny is an absolute warrior,” said Fisher. “That girl can perform under pressure and she’s so reliable. We just have to race our race and play to our strengths [though] you can never underestimate Australians.”
Kurtis Imrie and Max Brown (men’s K2 500) and Quaid Thompson (K1 500m) will also compete on Friday, though their respective paths are more straightforward, with Australia already qualified in those classes.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
