Aimee Fisher and Dame Lisa Carrington battle for World Championship qualification in 2022. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
One of the greatest paddlers of all time, Dame Lisa Carrington, can expect to be fully tested by fellow New Zealander Aimee Fisher for a spot at this year's World Canoe Sprint Championships.
The two will again go head-to-head in the K1 500m event at the National Championships on Lake Karapiro this weekend with just one world championship spot up for grabs.
The two have dominated on world stage in recent years with Dame Lisa picking up three gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and then winning the 2022 World Championship title.
Fisher won the 2021 world championship gold after Carrington decided not to attend.
"It looks to me that they're both in great condition," said Canoe Racing New Zealand General Manager of Performance Nathan Luce.
Carrington is a five time Olympic champion and a 12-time world champion.
"Lisa is coming into this very aware that this is another big challenge and that she'll have to be at her absolute best to maintain her status as the entry to the world champs."
Fisher beat Carrington for last year's national title, however Carrington then won two subsequent races to claim the sole world championship spot.
Luce expects competition this weekend to be just as intense.
"We're blessed to have two great athletes that are threats to contend in the event (on the world stage), so it's a good problem to have."
The two will clash in the heats on Friday and the final on Saturday... should a third race be required, it will be held on Monday.
Dame Lisa Carrington congratulates Aimee Fisher at the 2022 National Champs Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Fisher left the high performance programme in 2020 and therefore theoretically won't be considered for the K2 or K4 crews for international events, however Luce says it doesn't mean she can't be a part of the programme in the future.
Caitlin Regal, who won gold with Carrington in Tokyo, along with fellow Olympians Kayla Imrie and Teneale Hatton are all unavailable.
Other leading women's paddlers expected to feature during the regatta include 2022 World Championship representatives Alicia Hoskin, Tara Vaughan and Olivia Brett.
Meanwhile the K1 1000m is the blue riband in the men's section with the three podium finishers from the 2022 nationals, Ben McCallum, James Munro and Ben Duffy all returning.
Also entered are former world championship representative Quaid Thompson, 2023 World U23 Championship K1 1000m rep Grant Clancy and his North Shore club-mate Kacey Ngataki - a world Waka Ama champion.
The men's K1 1000m paddlers will also be trialling for the one spot available for the 2023 World Championships.
A total of 355 paddlers from the novice and U12 divisions through to masters and elite world-class performers will be competing including athletes from Australia, Japan, Singapore and the Pacific Islands.