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New Zealand Dame Lisa Carrington is New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having achieved nine Olympic medals, including eight gold, in canoe sprint events. She is a dominant figure in kayaking, with numerous World Championship titles and significant accolades.
Zespri, a global kiwifruit marketer, announced a four-year global partnership with Dame Lisa Carrington as their first global brand ambassador, recognizing her as an iconic New Zealand athlete and nine-time Olympic medallist. This collaboration highlights Carrington's status and influence.
Lisa Carrington serves as an athlete ambassador for Beef and Lamb New Zealand, participating in promotional activities alongside other prominent New Zealand athletes like Eliza McCartney, Sophie Pascoe, and Sarah Walker.
Carrington is an ambassador for Southern Cross Health Society, promoting health and wellness initiatives.
Since June 2021, Lisa Carrington and her dog, Colin, have been ambassadors for Nexgard Spectra for Dogs, a brand offering parasite protection products in New Zealand.
Born in Tauranga, New Zealand, in 1989, and raised on Ohope Beach, Dame Lisa Carrington began her illustrious kayaking career by showing early promise in 2009. That year, she secured a bronze medal at the World Cup regatta in Szeged, Hungary, in the K2 1000 event with Teneale Hatton. The following year, she and Hatton won a gold medal in the same event at a World Cup regatta in Vichy, France. Her partnership with coach Gordon Walker, which started in 2010, marked the beginning of her sustained success. In 2011, Carrington achieved a significant milestone by winning a gold medal in the women’s K1 200 event at the world canoe sprint championships in Szeged, becoming the first New Zealand woman to win a canoeing world title.
Dame Lisa Carrington’s Olympic achievements began at the 2012 London Olympics, where she won gold in the K1 200. She successfully defended this title at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where she also earned a bronze medal in the K1 500. Her performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was exceptional, as she secured three gold medals: in the K1 200, K1 500, and K2 500 alongside Caitlin Regal. This made her New Zealand’s most successful Olympian. She continued her dominance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning an additional three gold medals in the K4 500 (with Olivia Brett, Alicia Hoskin, and Tara Vaughan), K2 500 (with Alicia Hoskin), and K1 500, bringing her total Olympic medal count to nine, with eight golds and one bronze.
Beyond the Olympics, Carrington has also demonstrated consistent excellence at the World Championships. Since 2011, she has won the K1 200 event nine times and the K1 500 four times. She also holds one gold medal in the K2 500 and one in the K4 500 from World Championships. Her achievements include five silver and two bronze World Championship medals. In recognition of her unparalleled career, she was appointed Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2022. She has received multiple Halberg Awards, including the Supreme Award three times, and was named Sportswoman of the Decade 2010-2019. In 2021, she was recognized as the most influential Māori sports personality of the past 30 years and recently received the ANOC Outstanding Sporting Career Award.
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