Lisa Carrington earns K1 500m World championship berth for New Zealand after beating Aimee Fisher

Five-time canoe sprint Olympic champion Lisa Carrington has proven she is still the best K1 500m female paddler in New Zealand after beating rival Aimee Fisher for the second time in a week at Lake Karapiro on Thursday (28 February).

The 32-year-old will represent her country in the solitary K1 500m boat at the World championships in Nova Scotia, Canada, in August, after beating her compatriot twice in a best-of-three series duel.

Rules of the International Canoe Racing Federation only allow nations to enter one athlete per event.

The Olympic star made her usual quick start out of the blocks and surged ahead to hold her lead until the finish line.

Carrington won by 0.61 seconds, approximately half-a-boat length, in a time of 1:48.86.

“She was spectacular. We were out on the start line, and we had a little moment out there. Basically this makes us both faster. It’s all good… I’ll be back,” Fisher stuff.co.nz after the race.

Fisher, 27, won the K1 500m world title last year, while Carrington was absent from the event held in Copenhagen, Denmark, only six weeks after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In Japan Carrington solidified her title as queen of the sport after winning three gold medals in the K1 200m, K1 500m, and K2 500m.

Fisher did not to compete in Tokyo after leaving Canoe Racing New Zealand's high performance programme in 2020 over athlete welfare concerns.