Fisher beaten, proud, grateful
A devastated Aimee Fisher struggled to comprehend the pain of missing out on an Olympic kayak medal.
Fisher’s battle with the great Lisa Carrington in the women’s K1 500m final was dubbed “the race of the century”, but did not turn out the way she planned.
Carrington made it back-to-back K1 500m triumphs, after also winning in Tokyo, to capture her eighth Olympic gold medal and ninth in total.
Fisher missed out on bronze, finishing fourth, after she was edged at the finish line by Denmark’s Emma Aastrand Jorgensen.
The post-race emotion was clear for Fisher, who teared up speaking to media about the anguish of placing fourth and a challenging road to get to Paris.
“It’s been a pretty unconventional pathway. I do feel like I’ve been through hell and back to arrive at a place where I can line up in an Olympic final unafraid, able to stand in the storm and finish and know that I’m still loved,” Fisher said.
“I’ve had the most magnificent people walk alongside me and risk it all to stand with me so I could walk in the truth as best I could and I’m so, so grateful.”
Carrington and Fisher have been two of the form women’s K1 paddlers over the past four-year cycle. Their growing rivalry on the flat water had been a fascinating storyline in the build-up to the Games.
Fisher beat Carrington twice in the K1 500m at World Cup races in May, winning by 0.33sec in the Hungary regatta, then again in Poland in a photo finish.
Carrington got the better of Fisher in April last year, beating her at Lake Karapiro for the sole K1 500m place available to New Zealand for the 2023 world championships in Duisburg, Germany.
Fisher was the third quickest semifinal qualifier in the K1 behind Carrington and Hungary’s Tamara Csipes, but to not come away with a medal was heartbreaking.
Despite the result, Fisher was incredibly proud of the work she had put into her Olympic campaign and the person she had become.
“Do you know, I lined up unafraid. I wasn’t afraid and I felt more peaceful than I ever have on a start line.
“I just trusted my game plan and took it one stroke at a time and paddled in perfect love and it wasn’t enough to win the race, but man, the sun still rises.”
Fisher was unable to get off to the fast start she wanted in the final, which put her in a difficult position for the back half of the race.
She was desperate for a powerful finish over the second 250m, but wasn’t able to edge her rivals for a medal. Jorgenson pipped her by .15 of a second.
“Obviously I dreamed of it going a different way and I believed for it to go a different way. But you know what, there’s a peace there as well. I’m so loved.
“The last time I really got a soul-crushing defeat [against Carrington last year] it nearly broke me, but I can stand here in this loss so still and so knowing it will be perfect. I’ve just got to let it hurt for a while.”
Fisher and Carrington shared a special moment after the final as they paddled over to each other and sat side-by-side.
Carrington was a legend of the sport and Fisher was full of admiration for what she had not only done in Paris, but over her illustrious career.
“I said ‘I’m so proud of you and what an incredible result for New Zealand and all those young females back home’. She paddled out of her skin.
“That was magnificent.”
“I do feel like I’ve been through hell and back.’’
Aimee Fisher