Led by the legendary Lisa Carrington, New Zealand cruised to the women’s kayak four 500m gold at Paris 2024 while the men’s K4 500m went to a sensational German team. 

The men’s canoe double 500m saw China’s Hao Liu and Bowen Ji claim gold. 

Here are some quotes from the medallists and others.   

Lisa Carrington (New Zealand)

“This one is pretty special, to do it with these girls, the amount of work that we have all put in is pretty special. You never know what the end result is going to be when you line up and I think that is why sport is so thrilling. It's such a privilege to be out there with the best in the world and they bring out the best in us.”

Hao Liu (China) 

“We've received a very warm welcome so that's given us a good incentive to have a good performance. In Tokyo, I won two silver medals so winning the gold medal means a lot to me and it's very important for my country as well. It's compensation for what I've done up until now. I always believe I have the power to win. We have a great team and everybody worked really hard to make sure we put in everything to the end.”

Max Lemke (Germany)

“It was quite tight so we didn’t know that we had won. I had a feeling that we were in front in the last 25m but the Australians had a pretty good speed at the end so I wasn’t sure if we got first or second across the finish line. After we saw the sign we were super happy that all the hard work over the past three years paid off and we managed to win as the favourites here which was very hard for our mind but we are a very good team we managed to get through it together.”

Nevin Harrison (United States)

“I think it's hard as athletes with injury and then also not feeling supported, we feel like we are doing it alone. Within the last year I found a new coach who is the most wonderful person on the planet, who has supported me in so many ways. I think my life just kind of came together - I have a wonderful family, a wonderful boyfriend and friends who have just loved me through all of it, that lonely feeling has gone away. That's beyond what I could have hoped for, and it makes it that much sweeter that I beat that.” 

Katie Vincent (Canada) 

“I think overall I have improved a lot. I think we were in a really tough place as a team in Tokyo. Off the water we had a lot of stuff going on, so coming into these Olympics we have a lot more positive vibes and positive energy, and we are trying to use that to our advantage. We have a new coach now, and he is really smart and is helping us get better every day.”

Carlo Tacchini (Italy)

“It means a lot because it shows that last year's world championship wasn't the result that we deserved (they ended seventh), and the Olympics is the biggest competition, so coming home with a medal is always satisfying.”

Tamara Csipes (Hungary)

“I'm fricking proud, because this is my last Olympics and this is (my teammates) first Olympics, so it's special. I'm older than them (at 34). I am like a mum, like a granny, so I am really proud of them. We did a good job to earn this.”