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Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz |
Sideline Sid woke up to the news that Valerie Adams had been awarded the Gold Medal, after the Belarussian thrower had returned a positive drugs test – while it is outstanding news, it begs the question of how many London Olympians got past the drugs nets.
However it was a marvellous games for New Zealand, with hatful of medals that equalled the best medal tally in Seoul in 1988. You could argue a case that it was the best ever games for the Kiwi's - in that the Seoul Gold Medal tally was three, with Valerie's rightful promotion into first place taking the 2012 Gold Medal tally to six.
The Bay of Plenty contingent performed with distinction with the outstanding performance being the pocket rocket from Whakatane. While several places are claiming Lisa Carrington as their own – the reality is that Lisa is an Eastern Bay girl. However she was born in Tauranga, so perhaps we can claim a little of the reflected glory?
Like many in kayaking, Lisa came to the sport from surf lifesaving. She joined the Whakatane Surf Club as a nipper and was outstanding in junior surf competition, before joining the Mount Maunganui (Surf Club) Lifeguard Service as a senior competitor.
There is huge crossover between surf sport and kayaking, with plenty of ski paddlers making the transition to kayaks, with many initially make the switch from ski paddling as a form of cross training. The one major attraction that kayaking has is that it is an Olympic sport, with Lisa joining the list of former surf ski stars, to taste Olympic glory.
Forty years ago the great Ian Ferguson led the way winning the 1972 National surf ski title. In those days Ian competed for Palmerston North before moving north. In the late seventies there was a glimpse into future Olympic Glory, with Alan Thompson winning the Under 18 ski crown followed by Paul McDonald the following season.
By the early eighties, Ferguson, McDonald, Thompson and Grant Bramwell who grabbed the 1989 ski title, were making waves in the kayaking world. Who can forger the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where the four blitzed field in the K4 field, along with individual K1 gold's to Ferguson and Thompson, plus Ferguson and McDonald combing to take out a K2 Olympic title.
In Seoul Ferguson and McDonald accomplished the rare feat that the Valerie has just achieved – defending an Olympic title.
Both Ian Ferguson and Alan Thompson have remained heavily involved in the sport through the coaching ranks. There has always been a healthy rivalry between the pair, with first one then the other taking charge of the New Zealand sides. While Ferguson moved to the big city light of Auckland, Thompson never left his roots in Gisborne and remained loyal to the local kayaking fraternity and the Waikanae Surf Club.
Now that the euphoria of the Olympics is fading away, we have the Steamers ITM Cup campaign to look forward to in the next few months. Book in Saturday 25th August 2012 at Baypark as the place to be as 'Our Team” starts their quest to lift aloft the ITM Cup aloft in triumph.
Seeya at the Game