All Episodes

September 4, 2024 13 mins

Arguably New Zealand’s greatest ever Olympian, Dame Lisa Carrington is the best in the canoe sprint game. 

She’s brought home a staggering total of nine medals across four Olympic Games, eight of them gold, and one bronze, dominating the water. 

Despite her massive success, Carrington doesn’t believe this is the best she’s capable of, telling Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that you have to be able to look beyond the finish line or gold medal and set yourself other goals. 

“If I thought that winning a gold medal was my best, I would’ve stopped in London. I would’ve stopped after Rio, I would’ve stopped after Tokyo.” 

Carrington has been competing for over a decade now, but it’s taken her up until this year’s Games to have 100% joy and satisfaction in racing. 

“I think a lot of the time I’ve raced in the past, and it’s been out of just needing to win, just because that’s the expectation on me,” she told Hosking. 

“But for Paris, I’ve managed to get to a place where I was like, you know what, I’m just gonna do my best.” 

And doing her best panned out, with Carrington netting a total of three gold medals in the 2024 Games. 

Photo / Jason Oxenham

There comes a point in every successful athlete's career where the question on everyone’s mind is: what’s next?  

Carrington is currently at the top of her game and has no plans on stopping here, but when it comes to the next steps, she’s unsure whether she wants to leave while on top or not.  

“Being in the position I am, you know, being the fastest I’ve ever been, strongest, whatever, it is hard to think ‘Oh maybe I’ll stop now,’” Carrington said. 

“Because well, what else is there?”  

Every competition is different, each Olympic Games different again from the last, and when it comes to the next steps, Carrington thinks it would need to be a different challenge once more. 

And when it comes to new and different challenges, Carrington has fulfilled a goal she’s had since Tokyo: writing a children's book. 

Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion is aimed at 4-9 year olds, and details the journey of eight year old Lisa having a goal, the journey of achieving it, and the challenges along the way. 

“There's so many little messages in there from, you know, about... a little bit about discipline or having a plan, but also that, you know, there are challenges, and you have to keep turning up.” 

It’s the first of what Carrington hopes to be a series, with her leaving the ending open for another journey. 

“Too many lessons to learn and relearn.” 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
For some of the Olympics. After the event, they're asking
what is next to Dame Lisa Carrington as one of
those people. She may go again, of course she may not.
Nine medals across four games, eight of them gold. Meantime,
turns out she's an author a children's book aimed at
four to nine year olds. It's called Lisa Carrington Chases
a Champion. Lisa Carrington's with us morning, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning. It's lovely to be.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Here now, Elise Andrews, who we had in the program
a couple of weeks ago. So these are these eclectic questions.
I ask people like you, what's your observation, giving your
experience at the elite end of sport that most sports
people are elegant, eloquent and together as human beings. What
is it about sport that makes you that way?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I wouldn't not everyone's like that, right, I thank you?

Speaker 3 (00:46):
No, I think I guess as a sports person, and
particularly maybe in New Zealander, if you're working on yourself
as a human, your performance is also unlocked in that way.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
And the value then of programs, so rowing, paddling, cycling, sailing,
equestrian at Olympic level has been very good. What weight
do you place on the value of programs to propel
athletes forward?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
For I guess in my experience it's the people and
the I guess, the desire to push boundaries, to grow,
to learn, to figure out how just to get better.
So for us program is really it is important. But
also my coach, my teammates, that's a huge importance.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
What's the role in your life of the coach.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
He, I guess Gordy, he writes the program, he plans
our campaign. It's huge, and he's a mentor as well,
so he has a huge influence on my performance.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
Has he? I mean, obviously you grow closer over time.
But is it one of those things if you're the
right personality, you can be coached by anybody or is
it a very individual thing?

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Yeah? I think if you're a learner, if you've got
to be coachable, so absolutely you can be coached by anyone.
And I think you've got to really understand what you
need and how people can help you, and that people
aren't there to serve you. That you've got to figure out,
you know, what you can probably do for them. And
I guess have an aligned vision of where you want

(02:25):
to go.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
When you get to what you've achieved, what's still coachable?

Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's I guess that is the challenge is to make
sure that I still don't believe I know everything, so
I still have to get better and technically physically, So.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
It's see, I find that hard to believe. Is that
just one of those things you say to yourself just
because what you really want to say is there is
no one better than me. And that's not an arrogant
thing to say, It's just a statement of truth.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
But I guess there's like, what is the what is
the measure of best? Or you'll be like, it's only
your best.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
Right gold?

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Like I guess you are competing against we are competing
against people, but what is is it a world record?

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Is it your best?

Speaker 3 (03:14):
So I think you have to look beyond the finish
line or a gold medal and go. Actually, I want
to be I want to be able to do this
and every time you achieve those little things winning a
gold medal. If I thought that winning a gold medal
was my best, I would have stopped in London. I
would have stopped after Rio. I would have stopped after

(03:35):
so like You've got to figure out, like what is
more and as I think, you know, there's I think
you can just completely learn and grow as a person.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
It's got to be more than Do you think you're
still doing that?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (03:48):
I think I've learned so much in the last year.
Every year, Like I guess you kind of. There's one
of our coaches said, if you're not embarrassed by the
person you were, you're not growing.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
So like it, I think you.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
I think it's like if I look through every medal,
every moment, it's not always about the medals, you know
that they're just they just signify that moment. Yeah, but
you know, man, I just it's got to be more
than crossing the finish line first.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
It has to be I just can't work out what
that is though. See that's that's the that's the fascinating thing.
You must be going through that right now, then, mustn't you.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Absolutely, I think also finishing having done the sport for
this long, It's taken me this long to really perform
and that week of Paris and have like one hundred
joy and satisfaction and racing and I think a lot
of the time I've raced in the past, and it's
been out of just needing to win just because that's

(04:47):
the expectation on me. But for Paris, I managed it
to a place where I was like, you know what,
I'm just going to do my best. I love my teammates. Yeah, yeah,
we have given our heart and soul into this.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
So but that's because I'll tell you what that is.
What that is is you've got nothing left to.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Prove, or you just don't have to prove anything.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
That's what I'm saying. Yeah, no one doubts who you
are and what you're about, so therefore you can truly
enjoy it and be yourself and express yourself in your
case with the paddle.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
And I think you can probably find that at any stage,
whether you are going.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
To come last or come first. But that is probably
the hardest thing to do, is do you.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Want to leave? And I don't want to ask you
tricky questions that you'll squirm over, but do you just
just big picture stuff? Do you want to leave? Have
you even thought about it? Do you want to leave
at the top or it doesn't bother you?

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, that's I think you would. I don't know. I think.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
In sport, right now being in the position I am,
you know, being the fastest I've ever been, strongest, whatever,
it is hard to think, oh maybe I'll stop now.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Because well what else is there? So I don't know.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
Maybe I think to be honest, it has to be
a different thing. So every Olympacts is different. And if
I go to that next stage of life for whatever,
it's almost like you have to. It has to be
about something else. So the challenge has to be different.
And so maybe the challenge is so big the next
one that I can't be the best?

Speaker 1 (06:20):
All right? Would you still go to the Olympics? Do
you think knowing you're not the best?

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah, that's I think that's this is where this.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
Is where we're at. And do you take advice on that?
Are you one of those people who thinks that stuff
for yourself?

Speaker 2 (06:32):
No, I definitely take advice.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
I really have a you know, there's a handful of
people that I've had in my life for a good
fifteen years that have helped me get to this point.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, And I think you just you have to rely.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
I think it actually just comes back to who you are,
what you want, and am I on a path.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
That I enjoy?

Speaker 1 (06:56):
Good on you? And obviously part of that is the
business of getting up. I assume it's early and paddling
for long hours and doing what you do, which is
the other part I admire so much about you. You
seem to be above all elite athletes who are all
dedicated to what they do that next level up, which
is the you know what you need to do to

(07:18):
get to be the best. And there's something in that,
isn't there? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (07:21):
Absolutely, and it's I mean it's I guess we you know,
it's compounding interest. So years and years of being at
a high level, you keep adding experience training to the
bank and it just compounds over time.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
So yeah, I.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
Guess I have a fair bit of ip that I
would just continue to love to share as well.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
Where does age fit in and the physical constraints of age.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
I think there's a conception that sport is short, especially
for females, So I am not sure. I think we're
exploring new areas.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
There's not too many New Zealand Olympic athletes that are
over thirty five.

Speaker 1 (08:09):
How old are you?

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Thirty five? Okay, yeah, I feel younger than that.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
You'll you'll be thirty nine, Yeah, yeah, the next one.
And so is there a group of people out there
that can guide you in that sense that thirty nine
is not a thing or absolutely?

Speaker 2 (08:23):
I think we just you know, like there's no limit.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
I think what will that be made up of? Will
that be made how much of it will be made
up of diet, training, psychology, experience and all those other
bits and pieces versus just the natural Your body does
what your body does and there's nothing you can do
about that.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
Yeah, I guess that's what we're learning. Like as athletes,
we are a constant experiment. So data has been gathered
all the time, you know, our sleep data, our training data,
heart rate, et cetera. So I guess what we're learning
is although there's improvements, that does that improvement stop happening?

Speaker 2 (09:02):
And what does that due to?

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah? Physiology? Is it? Mentality? Diet?

Speaker 3 (09:08):
But yeah, there's definitely a play of I'm sure there's
a point where your body can't do more, but your
mind might be.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Able to do. You enjoy being disciplined, because here's the
other thing I think about a lot, and that is
the discipline. It's great when you're doing it, but when
you do it all the time, you think, Gee, wouldn't
it be great just to blob out for a while
and just let myself go a bit, And you see
it a lot of nex athletes who clearly have and
I've never quite got me. But I wonder if are

(09:37):
you disciplined naturally so that no matter we you end
up in life, you will be a disciplined person.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, maybe there's a bit of fear there. If I'm
not disciplined, things won't go well. So I think there's
probably a natural worry that I need to stay disciplined.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
But I think you just learn. It's gradual, right. I've
figured out for.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Me an equation where I can be disciplined, but it
just becomes kind of daily, So it's not huge, like
you know, you've got to stick to this routine and
got to eat all this food. It's actually small things
that I've developed that make it easier to turn up fantastic.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
So, which brings you to As to the children's book,
this as an exercise is about what.

Speaker 3 (10:21):
So it's really about the journey of my eight year
old Lisa having a goal and the journey of achieving it,
and that comes with little challenges and ways to kind
of come back to it.

Speaker 1 (10:36):
Do you send a message in the book that all
things are possible? Because one of it because I'm being
older than you and I'm an old dinosaur and all
that crap. The way that kids have dealt with these
days are perhaps not the way that you were dealt
with as a child, and certainly I wasn't. And that
is that there's a little bit too much leeway about
turning up and not you know, when it doesn't really
matter all that much and stuff like that. Do you
send a message that turning up counts sometimes?

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah? Absolutely, that is one of the messages in the book.
Young Lisa has a friend and she's so she asked
her for advice, and she said, it's just about showing up.
And so, you know, it's about turning up. It talks
about turning up. It's about your parents being that person
that listens to you. There's so many little messages in

(11:19):
there from you know, about a little bit about discipline
or having a plan, but also that you know there
are challenges and you have to keep turning up.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Isn't that one of the great stories of the Olympic Games,
And we saw it recently in Paris is everyone had
a mom or a dad or an uncle or an auntie,
and they were all there. It was like, there it is,
this is the moment, and we've all worked towards this
and it's the greatest thing in the world, doesn't it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
I think it's really special to be able to share
that with the people at home, you know, that have
come there to what you perform, and particularly like it
went so well for us at the games and so
for you know, across the board, and so I think
you know your parents they give so much.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Don't they? All everyone does? So this takes you where.
This is the first of eighteen books.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Yeah, I hope to do a couple more children's books.
So at the end there it kind of shares it
is another journey, so it keeps you on the edgy.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Well, she can have journeys and adventures till forever, can't She.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Always too many lessons to learn and relearn?

Speaker 3 (12:25):
Right?

Speaker 1 (12:26):
Good on you, well, thank you for bringing these glorious
things in. Do you wake them by the way in
terms of importance or moments learnings?

Speaker 3 (12:35):
And you know, I guess it's like every one of
those medals, I am kind of am a different person,
more experienced or whatever. So I think, yeah, they they're
all pretty, they're all pretty special, but I mean Paris,
the recent ones were amazing.

Speaker 1 (12:51):
I'm not surprised. Listen, go well, we'll put the video
up so everyone can see the medals in a moment
Lisa Carrington.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen Live News
Talk Set B from six am weekdays, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Good Game with Sarah Spain

Good Game with Sarah Spain

Good Game is your one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Every day, host Sarah Spain gives you the stories, stakes, stars and stats to keep up with your favorite women’s teams, leagues and athletes. Through thoughtful insight, witty banter, and an all around good time, Sarah and friends break down the latest news, talk about the games you can’t miss, and debate the issues of the day. Don’t miss interviews with the people of the moment, whether they be athletes, coaches, reporters, or celebrity fans.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc.