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Kiwi paddlers determined to make history at the Paris 2024 Olympics

New Zealand kayakers will soon start looking towards the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, adding to the nation's rich history of success in the Olympic Canoe Sprint.

New Zealand kayakers will soon start looking towards the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, adding to the nation’s rich history of success in the Olympic Canoe Sprint.

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With Olympic & Paralympic qualifications on the horizon at the upcoming ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany 23-27 August, the New Zealand Kayaking team is on a mission to Qualify both a men’s and women’s K4 (four-person kayak) boat for the Olympics. An achievement that has never been done before.

New Zealand is aiming for a full team at the Olympics, with a maximum of six men’s kayak and six women’s kayak quotas available as per ICF rules, which could mean up to five boats racing in male and female kayak events – one K4, two K2, and two K1.

New Zealand’s paracanoe paddlers, Scott Martlew, Corbin Hart, and Peter Cowan, hope to secure their spots in the Men’s KL2, KL3, and VL3 200m events for the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Each nation can qualify one athlete per discipline in the Paracanoe, and the trio is keen to make the cut. The upcoming 2024 World Cup in Szeged presents their final chance to qualify for the Paracanoe events.

K4 boats world championship qualification hangs on the line

For the K4 boat class, the 2023 World Championships is the only qualifying regatta for participation in the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. In February 2024, the Oceania Championships in Penrith, NSW, will offer one last opportunity for the K1 and K2 (two-person kayak) to qualify.

“This is the most stressful period right now, as we currently have no boats confirmed to go to the Olympics or Paralympics,” says Nathan Luce, CRNZ general manager of performance.

“Our priority at the upcoming World Championships is to qualify both the men’s and women’s K4 boats for the Olympics. We have only one chance to do that, and it’s at this event.”

Achieving a spot in Paris: What the Kiwis need to accomplish

Each boat has several ways to achieve this, one being a top-eight finish overall and another placing ahead of the Australian crew.

While New Zealand has seen strong results in K4 boats at the Olympics, they have never had male and female K4 boats competing at the same Olympic event.

The last time New Zealand had a Men’s K4 was in 1992 (Richard Boyle, Finn O’Connor, Stephen Richards, and Mark Scheib). New Zealand had a Women’s K4 crew at the Olympics in Rio 2016 (Caitlin Regal, Aimee Fisher, Kayla Imrie, Jaimee Lovett), where they placed fifth.

The World Cup One marks a welcome beginning to the international season

The Women’s K4 boat (Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Brett, and Tara Vaughan) claimed an impressive third place at World Cup One in Szeged in May. Qualification chances are promising if they can continue this fantastic form at the World Championships.

The Men’s K4 boat (Max Brown, Zach Ferkins, Kurtis Imrie, and Hamish Legarth) was just 0.25 seconds out from securing an A-final spot in their World Cup One semi-final. Their fifth-place finish in the B final, two places ahead of the Australian Men’s K4 crew in seventh, also bodes well for the World Championships.

The New Zealand canoe sprint world championships team

“Our World Championships team has recently been announced and are doing their final preparations in France,” says Luce.

“The K4 kayak men’s and women’s crews remain unchanged from World Cup One. In the Women’s K2 500m, we’re excited for the new combination of Aimee Fisher and Danielle Mckenzie to make their debut. Danielle Mckenzie, a World Ocean Ski Champion, is making great strides in canoe sprint.”

Dame Lisa Carrington, a five-times Olympic gold medalist, secured the New Zealand Women’s K1 500m World Championships racing spot. Ashton Reiser will race in the Men’s K1 500m, and Quaid Thompson in the Men’s K1 1000m event.

“Our athletes are diligently preparing for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic qualifying World Championships and aren’t leaving anything to chance,” says Luce.

“This is one of the strongest all-around teams we have fielded recently. Our athletes have been motivated since the completion of the World Cup in Szeged, but they have remained humble and not let past results affect their determination to improve and set the bar higher in August.”

It is important to note that the qualification process referred to is for NZ boats within an event, not for athletes. Qualification for a place in any event by an athlete or crew does not guarantee that the athlete/crew will be nominated or selected to compete in that event at Paris 2024.

The announcement of the athletes selected for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic team will be no later than 24 June next year.

Photography: Rhys Moult on Unsplash

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