Dame Lisa Carrington and Alicia Hoskin cross the finish line to win gold in the women's 500m kayak doubles. Photo: photosport
When Dame Lisa Carrington crossed the finish line in the women's kayak doubles to claim her seventh Olympic gold, her first thought wasn't relief for her aching muscles - or even pride in herself.
Instead, she was thinking of her boat-mate, Alicia Hoskin, and their shared achievement.
"Crossing the line, it wasn't relief or 'wow', it was more like 'that is so cool to do it together'," Dame Lisa told RNZ shortly after the win.
"I'm sure Alicia doesn't even realise she's going to have two gold medals around her neck, so it's amazing."
The pair produced one of the biggest performances of their careers - not just in the result, but in the margin of their victory.
The race was close for the first half on the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium course, but then the New Zealanders blew away their opposition to win by more than a boat length - a rare feat in a K2 500-metre race.
"We went in with a strategy and we just had to put a lot of trust in that," Hoskin told RNZ.
There was no sign of fatigue near the end, although Dame Lisa did not bother with the last stroke as they went across the line.
The women celebrate after crossing the line. Photo: AFP/OLIVIER MORIN
The German and Hungarian crews battled it out for the minor placings, with Hungary taking second and the German and second Hungarian crew sharing the bronze.
Hoskin did not expect the New Zealand boat to be so far ahead at the finish.
"To look back and see them battling it out I was just super proud of the way we paddled together because it could have been very easy to get caught up in the moment in the pressure."
The pair were prepared for the windy and choppy conditions, having trained a lot on Lake Pupuke in Auckland where the going can be similar.
"We just had a plan, stuck to our strategy and our strengths and it's amazing we could pull out that performance under pressure.
"We made sure we could do everything to make it the best race possible. "
Dame Lisa, who is now in the twilight of her career, was full of praise for all the members of the women's squad and in particular with Hoskin.
"The love of paddling Alicia has is awesome to be a part of and the passion of doing it together and keeping that mindset helped us lean into the pressure."
She has one more race to go in the K1 and a gold medal there would result in her joining the most successful kayaker ever, with eight Olympic titles.
Germany's Birgit Fischer won eight gold medals at six Olympics between 1980 and 2004.
Dame Lisa will come up against fellow New Zealander Aimee Fisher in the K1.
