Dame Lisa Carrington MNZM is New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of eight gold medals and one bronze medal during her career to date.
Lisa is a three-time consecutive gold medal champion in the fast and furious Women's K-1 200 metres at the 2012 Olympics in London, 2016 Olympics in Rio, and 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, as well as gold in the same event at the 2011 Canoe Sprint World Championships. Alongside her crewmate, Lisa also won gold in the K-2 500 metres at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and as an individual in the K-1 500 metres.
In the Paris 2024 Olympics, Lisa continued her remarkable success by winning gold medals in the women's kayak singles 500m, the women's kayak doubles 500m with partner Alicia Hoskin, and the women's kayak fours 500m alongside Alicia Hoskin and other teammates.
Further to her Olympic medals, Lisa has been recognized for her achievements as New Zealand's senior Maori sportswoman and overall Maori sportsperson of the year in November 2012. In the 2013 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to kayaking. In 2014, she was named the NEXT Woman of the Year in the Sport category, and at the 2016 Halberg Awards, she won the Sportswoman of the Year and also won the Supreme Award. In 2021, Lisa was named the most influential Maori sports personality of the past 30 years in the Maori Sports Awards 30 in 30 show. In 2022, Lisa was appointed a Dame Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to canoe racing.
Of Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki and Ngati Porou descent, Lisa was born in Tauranga, raised in Ohope Beach, and attended Whakatane High School and Massey University in Albany.
