Kayla Imrie

Kayla Imrie was born on February 4, 1992, in Wellington, New Zealand. She began her canoeing journey at the age of 16 at the Mana Kayak Racing Club in Wellington. An early experience at the Australian Youth Olympics in 2009 influenced her decision to pursue the sport seriously. Imrie subsequently moved to Auckland to train with the New Zealand High Performance Sports Centre, where she has been coached by Rene Olsen since October 2014. Her early career also involved participation in Surf Life Saving, demonstrating a broad engagement with water sports prior to a focused dedication on competitive canoeing. Her academic pursuits include a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences.

Imrie made her senior international debut in 2015 at World Cup 1 in Portugal. A significant milestone occurred in the same year when she qualified for the Olympics in the NZ WK4 at the World Championships in Milan. She represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, competing in the Women’s K-4 500 metres event alongside Jaimee Lovett, Caitlin Ryan, and Aimee Fisher. This team, having trained together for 18 months, achieved a fifth-place finish in the medal race. Imrie continued to achieve success on the international stage, earning two silver medals at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho in the K-2 200 m and K-4 500 m events. She also secured a bronze medal at the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Račice in the K-4 500 m.

Throughout her career, Imrie has solidified her position as a prominent athlete in canoe sprint. She continues to train at the New Zealand High Performance Sports Centre, focusing on preferred distances of 200m and 500m. Her dedication reflects a sporting philosophy that emphasizes resilience: “Success is not measured by how high you climb, but how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.” Beyond her athletic endeavors, Imrie works as a Teacher Aid and is of Māori descent, affiliating with Whakatōhea.