Lisa Carrington

Dame Lisa Marie Carrington DNZM (born 23 June 1989) is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of eight gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K‑1 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as gold in the same event at the 2011 Canoe Sprint World Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics she also won a gold medal in the K‑2 500 metres, with Caitlin Regal, and as an individual in the K‑1 500 metres. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Carrington defended her titles in the K‑1 500 metres and K‑2 500 metres event (with Alicia Hoskin) and also won the K‑4 500 metres event. Carrington equalled Danuta Kozák's record of winning all three K-1, K-2, K-4 events, over 500 metres, at one Olympics.

Born in Tauranga, Carrington was raised in Ōhope, a satellite town of Whakatāne in the eastern Bay of Plenty, and is of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Whakatōhea and Rongomaiwahine as well as European descent. She attended Whakatane High School, and Massey University in Albany. As a child she played netball and aspired to be a Silver Fern. She married her long-time partner Michael Buck in 2022.

In June 2009, she won a bronze medal at the World Cup regatta held in Szeged, Hungary, competing alongside Teneale Hatton in the women's K‑2 1000 metres event. In May 2010, the pair won the gold medal in the same event at a World Cup regatta in Vichy, France. In late 2010, she started working with coach Gordon Walker.

Carrington and Hatton won three gold medals at the 2010 Oceania Canoe Championships; they won the 500 and 1000 metres K‑2 events and were joined by Rachael Dodwell and Erin Taylor to win the K‑4 500 metres. The pair became the first New Zealanders ever to reach a World Championship A final at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poznań, Poland. Their time of one minute 42.365 seconds in the semi-finals meant they qualified third fastest for the final of the K‑2 500 metres, however they finished the final in ninth position.

At the 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Carrington won the gold medal in the women's K‑1 200 metres event; and became the first New Zealand woman to win a canoeing World Championship title. The result secured an Olympic qualification berth for New Zealand. She was also honoured with the Māori Senior Sports Woman of the Year Award.

Carrington represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In the K‑2 500 metres, Carrington and Erin Taylor finished 7th, and in the K‑1 200 metres Carrington won the gold medal. At the 2012 Oceania Championships, Carrington won gold medals in the K‑1 200 metres and in the K‑2 200 metres with Taylor.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she defended her gold medal in the K‑1 200 metres event and won a bronze medal in the K‑1 500 metres event. In doing so, she became the first New Zealand woman to win multiple medals at the same Olympic games. Carrington was the flag bearer at the 2016 closing ceremony.

At the 2019 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Carrington won gold medals in the K‑1 500 metres and K‑1 200 metres events.