Multiple World Champion, Lisa Carrington (NZL) out classed her fellow compatriots and in doing so demonstrated her dreams of an Olympic double are right on track by winning the K1W 200m and 500m at the New Zealand Canoe Sprint National Championships, while Marty McDowell's chances of making it to Rio de Janeiro also received a ringing endorsement.
Carrington felt plenty of pressure going into the K1W 500m final, after Teneale Hatton (NZL) – also a multiple world champion over the longer distances – inflicted a rare defeat over Carrington in the K1W 500m before Christmas.
And while the Olympic champion comfortably won over the shorter K1W 200m distance, she had to dig deep to overcome a spirited Hatton on Saturday.
"The competition is so strong, so to have the performance I wanted was a big relief and it's just one step towards the Olympics," Carrington said, after finishing in 1min 57.83secs, 1.73secs ahead of Hatto, with Caitlin Ryan third just 0.34secs further back.
"I really wanted to do well here so I put a lot of pressure on myself and I need that pressure and nerves to produce a really good performance."
McDowell, meanwhile, finished second to Adam van Koeverden (CAN) in Saturday's feature men's race, the K1M 1000m, although the 2004 Canadian Olympic gold medalist was impressed with how McDowell is paddling ahead of Olympic selections.
"He hasn't stamped his ticket yet but he should be the entry," van Koeverden said. "He's the fastest guy in New Zealand since Ben Fouhy and Marty's possibly a bit more consistent than Ben. He's very competitive internationally."
McDowell won the recent Oceania qualifying spot, beating van Koeverden in the process in Adelaide, although he still needs to convince the New Zealand Olympic Committee he can be competitive in Rio. The pair will spend the next week training together in Auckland.
Carrington's selection is virtually assured, meanwhile, which means that her hard work has only just begun, with world cup racing on the horizon.
"This is halfway and after this, I'll settle back down and get back into the hard yards before the Olympics," said Carrington.
"It's just taking small steps and working towards that really great performance, trying every day to get better and closer to my potential."
