Dame Lisa Carrington: Olympic kayak sprint gold medalist says it's an honour to lead Kiwi athletes in Closing Ceremony

Our most successful Olympics of all time is coming to a close in Paris.

Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are all performing in the closing ceremony.

Flagbearer Dame Lisa Carrington told Mike Hosking it's an honour to be leading our Kiwi athletes alongside fellow flagbearer Finn Butcher.

“I’d say I’m a bit of a different athlete now than I was then, and I think it’s really special to be able to do it. We’ve had such a great Olympics.”

New Zealand is bringing home 20 medals — ten Gold, seven Silver, and three Bronze — putting us 11th in the Gold Medal Table.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of all the medals we want in Paris, the Lisa
Carrington story was probably the most predictable.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Pamous curve for the gold middle.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Kiwi's can fly co puts through and it's down a
golden glow for Lydia. Come, she's got the race face
on the red Sonnies. It's Carrington Carrington coming down to
the line. It is gonna be gold and Dame Lisa

(00:29):
Carrington is what it's from Paris. Morning to you, good
morning and warmest congratulats. Yes, indeed, warmest congratulations if you
had a chance to sort of sit quietly and let
it all soak in and enjoy it.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Uh, not quite.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I mean it gets quite hic deck with the you know,
doing all extra bits and pieces and media and family
and and now we've got the closing ceremony. So yeah,
I'm probably on the plane ride home, I'll be able
to kind of think about it a bit.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Expectation going in, even if you didn't art to relate
it to the wider world, your expectation going in versus
what you delivered. How did it play out?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I mean that's probably the I guess the forces
that I was working against is trying not to have
such high expectation. Particularly that's mainly from myself really, but
I guess knowing you, I guess it's knowing I can
achieve it and executing it, you know, two different things.

(01:27):
So yeah, I mean that was just what I was
trying to keep it bay and just make sure that
I focused on the work, on the peddling and enjoying
it to kind of, you know, make the most of
the experience, because at the end of the day, that's
what it's about.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
How much your level is now about the psychology of
it versus the physical execution of it.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
You know, I think that they probably go hand in hand.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
I think, really, if you've got great mentality, good attitude,
and great ways to view the world, good perspective, to
be able to get more out of your body and
more out of the moment, I think if you can.
I know that for myself, when I can find a
way to kind of be you know, calm with that
much pressure and that much expectation, I'm a lot more

(02:13):
capable of doing the task.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
And ultimately that's.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
What it was about, is just throwing the strategy doing
what I know I can do. Just that an extremely
you know, high pressure situation.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Do you feel the expectation because when you have that discussion,
the whole country does before the game start and they think, right,
where are the medals? You're the first name every time.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
M Yeah, yeah, I mean, I yeah, absolutely, Like I do,
I do tune out of that type of thing, so
I you know, I'm not reading media, I'm not on
social media because it's it is a lot of expectation
and it is outside noise and really I kind of
have to It's just you don't even you don't know

(02:54):
what the result is going to be. So at the
end of the day, I can dream of, you know,
winning and that type of thing, but it's obviously a
dream until you make it happen. So keeping true to
what it's going to take is really the most important thing,
not so much you know, I need to achieve it
or the.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Outcome counteracting that. Does the experience of having been to
a number of games help?

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah? Absolutely, I think even having my coach and you know,
likes Gordy and also some other of our support staff
having been at the Olympics, just knowing.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
What it's like is really important. Like it's.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
You know, having that experience, you just understand the kind
of pressure that people go under, and particularly.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
For them just being super calm.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know, things can get quite high pressure and reactive
in those situations. So ily you just want people that
are super calm around you. So yeah, I mean reaping
the rewards just because I've done it before so I
know what to expect, and also having Gordy and my
other support team understanding it as well.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
How do you work through? And you're at this place,
I guess now when do you let go? Because being
a perfectionist, you go, I could probably do this again,
and you probably could, but then again you don't need to,
so you think, shall I shan't I? How do you
work through that?

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
I mean it's like it's got to be an overall picture.
I think it's like what do you want from life?
And being an athlete has a finite timeline, especially for
you know us as females, So which is you know,
that's another consideration and also yeah, what else do you
want to get out of the sport? And I think
to like, if I still love it, why not continue?

(04:45):
So yeah, I guess it's just those things like if
there's something else more to achieve outside of.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
What I'm currently doing. But yeah, I mean, while I've been.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
Doing it, doing sport, it's definitely challenged me in the
best way. So I'm super grateful to have been a
harder sport for such a long time.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Is it all cream on the cake these days or not?

Speaker 2 (05:08):
No, absolutely not.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
It's I feel that as I've matured as an athlete,
I've probably been able to understand and work a bit harder.
And I think too, as training age, you get but fitter,
a bit stronger, and you get to you know, understand
a bit more about what it takes.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Exactly you excited about the flag or if you carried
the flag too many times?

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Now, Yeah, I mean I carry the flag in real
which is really awesome, and then carrying the flag here it.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Is really special too.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
So yeah, I mean I'm a little i'd say, I'm
a bit of a different athlete now than I was then,
and I think.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
It's really special to be able to do it.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
We've had such a great Olympics and to do it,
you know, not just because of what I've done here,
but because New Zealand has done a great job. So
I mean, any one of these athletes could be carrying
the flag and we'd all be just absolutely happy for.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Them to represent.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
So yeah, that's what I'm going to go do tonight
and just represent them and close out the games for them.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
Will you go have a good time. I appreciate your
time as always. Dame Lisa Carrington are the reference to
Gordias Gordon Walker, who who coach of course.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
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Speaker 1 (06:15):
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