Aimee Fisher just beats Dame Lisa Carrington in the latest World Cup event. Photo / YouTube
- Aimee Fisher beats Dame Lisa Carrington for second time this month
- Race came down to 0.05 of a second.
- K1 500m final set to be rare Kiwi showdown at Olympics
Aimee Fisher has done it again, pipping Dame Lisa Carrington for a second time in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.
Fisher has taken out the latest K1 500m World Cup final in Poland beating her compatriot by 0.05 of a second. Both Kiwis dominated the field with third-place getter Anna Pulawska more than three seconds back.
Two weeks ago Fisher edged the defending Olympic champion in Hungary. Carrington didn’t leave the World Cup empty-handed, claiming gold in the K2 500m.
It could be a preview of the Paris Olympics final, which would be the first time Carrington battles a fellow New Zealander at the Games. The K1 200m is no longer raced at the Olympics, an event in which Carrington has won three gold medals, meaning the K1 500m is her only shot at an individual medal in Paris.
“I was so nervous this morning,” Fisher said.
“I woke up and felt like I could not do this, it’s too big. But I just went through the day one step at a time, through the warm-up, through the semifinal. That was a tight race. We were on the start long for a very long time and I just had to be patient.
“I just really wanted to be courageous in the first 250. You saw in Szeged that I got quite far behind so for me today it was a real call to be bold and roll the dice a little and it bloody hurt in the last 200. I could feel it was close, I could hear people shouting. Wow, what a contest.”
Carrington and Alicia Hoskin won the K2 500m event by a second over German duo Lema Roehlings and Pauline Jagsch. Fisher and teammate Lucy Matehaere were eighth, more than six seconds back.
Fisher earned her spot in Paris after winning the K2 500m Oceania qualifier alongside Danielle McKenzie in February. The result meant Fisher will be able to compete in the K1 500m category, along with Carrington.
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.
Fisher is rated as one of the best solo paddlers in the world - and one of the few that has been able to push or beat Carrington in recent years - which will make for a compelling event in the French capital.
Fisher said after today’s win she expects the bar will be lifted again by Carrington in Paris.
“We have raced so many times now that it comes down to centimetres so you have to just treat every stroke with respect because you know she is going to be right there,” Fisher said.
“For me it was that calm, peace and trusting and I just imagined my family and my people shouting for me at home, praying for me and covering me. Just try to surrender to that.
“It’s good to come out here and get the win but you know what, when the Olympics come around it will be winner takes all. From now, I need to reset as I have a lot of work to do and I am going to be working hard every single day.”
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