Pictures: Lynne Cameron.
For almost 20 years, canoeing has dominated virtually every aspect of Dame Lisa Carrington’s life, with the extraordinary athlete paddling her way to become New Zealand’s most successful Olympian ever.
Now, two decades and nine medals later, the iconic Kiwi’s making a surprise move to a new sport, joining the BNZ Kāhu professional women’s basketball team. But despite her obvious sporting prowess, Lisa insists she won’t be taking to the court in her new code. Instead, she’s become a part-owner of the trailblazing organisation.
“Basketball’s a totally new thing for me and I’m super-excited to be involved,” says the star. She catches up with Woman’s Day at home in Auckland after a morning on the water, training for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“I never thought I’d own a sports team, but it’s an awesome opportunity to invest in women. And with the background that I have, it’s exciting to see how I can contribute, too.”
While her canoeing career is by no means over, Lisa, 35, reveals she’s been thinking a lot about what life will look like once she’s no longer a competitive sportsperson. Sport has given her so much, and Lisa’s determined to find ways to stay involved, share her skills and experience, and give back.
“Every professional athlete will come to a point in their lives where we have to figure out when and how to exit the stage,” she shares. “I’m not there yet, but of course I’m thinking ahead about how I’ll make the transition from being the one competing to moving into a more behind-the-scenes role.”
Buying into a professional sports team wasn’t something Lisa saw coming. However, her interest was sparked when she learned about Kāhu, a basketball team with all female owners, coaches and players. It’s a unique model that’s the first of its kind in Aotearoa and perhaps the world. At that, Lisa simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get on board.
Lisa, who is of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Ngāti Porou descent, hopes Kiwis will get behind women’s basketball. She says it offers huge fun and excitement for players and fans alike. However, she’s adamant she won’t be offering any coaching tips and certainly won’t be taking to the court.
“I would be absolutely no use to them!” she laughs. “I’m far too short, plus I’m a netball girl – I’ve never played basketball in my life. But I’m really loving learning more about it. Basketball’s massive worldwide and it’s growing here in New Zealand. I’m excited to see what we can do to grow the women’s game, to get as many people watching it and feel inspired by the women on the court. There’s some amazing talent and it’s a really cool community.”
If anyone knows how much sport can change lives, it’s Lisa. She spectacularly clinched three golds in Paris last year to bring her career total of Olympic medals to nine. While some had expected she might retire after the extraordinary result, in January, she announced her intention to race at her fifth Games.
“Some people were surprised, but those who know me best weren’t at all,” she reveals. “I don’t believe you should give up just because you’re a certain age or you’ve won a number of medals. I still believe I can do it and I still have something to give, so why would I stop?”
However, this year, Lisa’s doing things differently, scaling back on the number of global competitions. Although, she’s still on the water two or three times a day, six days a week. She has set her focus on fitness and strength as she pushes towards Los Angeles.
“It might still sound a lot, but it has given me more breathing space and flexibility,” she says. “It’s about longevity now. I’m not pushing my body quite as hard, which has been really good. I don’t need to be in the physio or massage room as often, I’ve got more energy for other things.”
Lisa’s the first to admit she’s not particularly good at sitting still, but to unwind she loves pottering about in the garden with husband Michael “Bucky” Buck and their dog Colin, catching up with friends and going to their beach house in her hometown of Ōhope.
And when the basketball season begins in September, Lisa will be sure to be on the sidelines. She’ll be cheering on Kāhu as they fight to retain their championship title in the rapidly growing Tauihi league.
She’s got a bit to learn about the game, but she’s more than ready for the challenge.
Lisa grins, “It’s exciting. I can’t wait to get behind the team and watch them play.”
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