Nathan acknowledges it was their goal to qualify a K4 boat to get them ahead with their Paris preparations and the women’s team has done that.
But it’s not job done yet, according to Nathan.
The men’s K4 just missed a top eight placing in Duisburg, the only opportunity to qualify a K4 boat. However attention now moves to the Oceania Championships in Australia in February where further qualification spots for women’s and men’s boats are up for grabs.
Nathan says the qualification process for Canoe Racing is complicated however the simple target for CRNZ is to qualify a women’s K2 which will give them six spots and enable multiple entries in all women’s events in Paris. In the men’s programme, the goal at Oceania’s is to qualify its K2 making a likely Paris 2024 total team of six to eight canoeists.
On the Para canoe front, there is still an opportunity at the Para Canoe World Championships in May in Hungary for Corbin Hart in the kayak discipline and Peter Cowan in the waka ama discipline to join already qualified Scott Martlew.
As Nathan does the maths on potential team numbers, his calculations reinforce the importance of the additional qualification spots. “If, for example, we can qualify the women’s K2 it gives us two more athlete spots and allows more options for crew combinations and the opportunity to entrer at least two K2s, two K1s as well as the K4. Regardless of whether we gain an additional two spots or not, it’s exciting to know we can field boats in all women’s events at next year’s Olympics.”
By the end of February CRNZ will know how many men’s and women’s spots have qualified and can then focus on the all-important programme to select the individuals for those spots for Paris.
Nathan has been in the role of General Manager of Performance since the end of 2021 following a four-year stint as CRNZ’s women’s coach.
His role is to manage all aspects of the high performance programme, to work closely with HPSNZ Performance Team lead, Adrian Blincoe, to lead the NSO’s strategy with key high performance coaches and to work on the development programme to ensure the pipeline of potential talent is full.
Nathan says the sport’s success can be put down to many factors but there are two which really stand out for him. “Consistency and continuity are what I believe are the hallmarks of the sport’s success.
“New Zealand has had a great history of Olympic medal winning success, starting with the men’s success at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, and then Lisa starting her remarkable run of World and Olympic titles beginning in 2011.
“This incredible legacy has led to a wider success story currently being written by the Kiwi women in every class of boat offered at the World Championships and Olympic Games,” says Nathan.
“This has been an incredible run of individual and team success especially considering New Zealand’s first female Canoe Sprint Olympian, Erin Taylor, was only named in 2008.”
“There has been the inevitable turnover in the sport but most importantly the core, experienced group have been vitally important to driving the success of our programme,” says Nathan.
It is, however, the success of the women’s K4 that gives Nathan considerable pleasure. “Our strategy has been to put as much resource into boat programmes as possible, to build teams and develop a strong culture of pursuing excellence.
“As part of that strategy we’ve used both Auckland and Cambridge as bases to drive our team boat aspirations. The gold medal success of the women’s K4 in Duisburg shows our strategy is starting to pay dividends and is a testament to the tenacity, perseverance and commitment of our wider team.”
Nathan also says the success of the K4 in Duisburg is the culmination of years of work and commitment from athletes, coaches and support people.
“It was nearly 10 years ago when we started our K4 targeted approach and it has been a big part of our programme. It demonstrates to clubs around the country that there is an opportunity for a number of canoeists, not just for singe boats. The K4 crew has canoeists from four different parts of the country – Lisa from Whakatane, Alicia Hoskin from Gisborne, Olivia Brett out of Christchurch and Aucklander Tara Vaughan.”
While current planning for Para canoe in Paris is focused on Scott and hopefully Corbin and Peter, Nathan says a big focus is on a programme to encourage more people living with disabilities into the sport. “Our eyes are on 2028 and with the rate Para canoe is growing, we have a bullish target to qualify boats into at least six categories.”
But for now all eyes are on the Oceanias in February and, for Para canoe, on Hungary in May.
