Canoe Sprint World Cups Selections | New Zealand Olympic Team

23 March 2012

Canoe Racing NZ has today announced the team to attend the World Cups and named a 2012 Olympic Squad. There are no selection surprises in the World Cups team, which is headed up by World Champion Lisa Carrington and includes all of the athletes who have qualified the seats for the 2012 Olympic Games. Lisa Carrington will contest her world championship event the Womens K1 200m. Lisa who is only 22 and racing towards her first Olympics will be looking to continue her scorching form, which has already seen her win the national and continental title in the same event this year. She will also join with partner and Olympic veteran Erin Taylor in the Womens K2 500m. Lisa and Erin directly qualified these seats for the 2012 Olympic Games at last years World Championships and again recently proved their pedigree as a crew by winning the event in a personal best time at the Oceania Continental Championships. Teneale Hatton also 22 has been selected to contest the Womens K1 500m a seat she recently qualified at the Oceania Continental Championships as she races to achieve a world ranking and the opportunity to attend her first Olympics. Former World Champion and Olympic Silver medallist Ben Fouhy will race the Mens K1 1000m and Steve Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald the Mens K2 1000m also all recently qualified at the Oceania Continental Championships. Olympic veterans Ben and Steve will mentor 21 year old Darryl Fitzgerald in his quest to attend his first Olympic Games. The Canoe Racing NZ Selection Panel has retained the right to finalise the athletes and races for World Cup 2 until after the results of World Cup 1 are known. The team departs early May to attend the 2012 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cups 1 & 2 in Poznan, Poland and Duisburg, Germany respectively between 18-27th May 2012. The Panel have also named the athletes for the 2012 Olympic Squad and these are Ben Fouhy, Darryl Fitzgerald, Steven Ferguson, Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor. In early June once World Cups results are known formal nomination of athletes and events will be made to the NZOC.