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Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singaporean kayaker Stephenie Chen targets Asian Games success
SINGAPORE – Stephenie Chen has five SEA Games gold medals, an Asian Games silver and she became the first Singaporean kayaker to make an Olympic C final in Paris 2024. She eventually finished seventh out of eight in the women's canoe sprint K1 500m Final C. Yet, Chen feels that she has not reached her maximum potential. During her six-week post-Olympic break, she travelled to China, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea, before heading back to Australia in November to resume training. And the 33-year-old plans to keep going. She said: 'My coach felt like he needed to leave it up to me to decide what my next goal would be and how I wanted to approach it. The reason why I'm continuing is that I feel like I still have room for improvement. 'I want to be able to see where I get or how far I get, racing fearlessly. In this sport, there's always something to improve, whether it's fitness, technique, or my race plan and that constant challenge keeps me showing up and pushing to get better each season.' Despite wanting to race fearlessly, Chen noted that did not mean she was competing with fear previously. The pressure of preparing for back-to-back major events like the Asian Games in 2023 and the Paris Olympics made her very goal-oriented, leading to moments of self-doubt, she explained. 'I still had really good races at the Asian Games and Paris. But I had lot of self-doubt in my capabilities as a paddler. I could work a bit on my confidence,' said Chen, who spoke to The Straits Times from Poznan, Poland, where she is preparing for the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Sprint World Cup from May 22 to 25. 'I did as well as I could have in Paris. But purely looking at my numbers, I feel like I can do a lot better. At training, I have a lot better numbers. 'So just for this season, I'm just looking to enjoy the racing and see where I am without too much focus on the results.' In her first major competition in 2025, the 33-year-old bagged a silver and a bronze at the May 8-10 Asian Canoe Confederation Canoe Sprint Asian Championships. Stephenie Chen bagged a silver and a bronze at the May 8-10 Asian Canoe Confederation Canoe Sprint Asian Championships. PHOTO: SINGAPORE CANOE FEDERATION At the Yaohu International Aquatic Sports Centre in Nanchang, Jiangxi in China, Chen won silver in the women's kayak single 200m in 46.285sec, just behind Asian Games double gold medallist Wang Nan of China (45.073). Olga Shmelyova (47.432) of Kazakhstan took the bronze. She also clinched a bronze in the kayak single 500m (2min 7.515sec), while Wang won gold in 2:03.159 and Uzbekistan's Arina Tanatmisheva (2:06.703) claimed the silver. The rest of the season will see her focusing on World Cup competitions and training camps in Asia. Her goal is a gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, though a second Olympic appearance at Los Angeles 2028 is not on the cards for now. Chen, who won a silver in the K1 500m at the Hangzhou Asian Games, said: 'I like to try to better my results. For now, motivation is high. I will obviously hope to win the gold medal but every athlete hopes to do their best performance.' A fourth outing at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand could also be on her calendar, despite the biennial Games not featuring any women's kayak events. Chen, who last competed at the 2015 Games in Singapore where she bagged two golds and a silver, could still paddle in the mixed kayak doubles 200m or 500m, or the kayak four 500m mixed team. She said: 'I have not been to the SEA Games since 2015, because kayaking is not always part of the Games and when they had it, there were no women's only events. 'When there was (in 2022), I skipped it because I was preparing for the Asian Games. So I was looking forward to it this year but now there are no women's events again. 'But no, SEA Games is not off the table. The federation has not decided on what the combinations will be.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Eyewitness News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Hamish Lovemore paddles his way to a silver medal at Canoe Sprint World Cup
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's Hamish Lovemore narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged on Saturday. Lovemore was pipped to the gold medal by Hungary's Bálint Kopasz, taking the silver medal in the men's K1 1,000m final. The 25-year-old pushed Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Kopasz the entire way. The top-class field featured six of the eight Olympic finalists, including Paris 2024 champion Josef Dostal of Czechia. Kopasz won gold in 3:29.65, edging Lovemore, who took silver in 3:29.82, while a late surge from Dostal saw the Czech seal bronze in 3:32.10. A marathon specialist, Lovemore competed in the K1 1,000m and K2 500m at the Paris Olympics. The 25-year-old is a canoe marathon world champion from 2022 and has an U23 world bronze medal in the canoe sprint. He's also the 2024 KwaZulu-Natal Sport Awards Sportsman of the Year.
NBC Sports
05-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Kayak legend Lisa Carrington takes 2025 season off, ends championship streak, eyes LA 2028
Lisa Carrington, a sprint kayak gold medalist at the last four Olympics, is taking the 2025 season off from international competition but plans to return in 2026 for the run-up to the 2028 LA Games, her rep confirmed Monday. 'After 16 consecutive seasons at the top level, Lisa has opted not to travel with the team in 2025, making this year look slightly different from previous ones,' New Zealand's canoe federation said in a statement, according to the International Canoe Federation. 'She's back to full training and enjoying the added flexibility in her schedule. The plan is to return to international competition next year, with her sights firmly set on LA 2028.' Carrington, 35, is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the only athlete across all sports to win three gold medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Games. Including the World Championships, Carrington has won at least one global title every year dating to 2011, save 2020 when events were canceled due to COVID-19. That streak will end in 2025. At the 2028 LA Games, Carrington can win individual gold at a fifth Olympics (as can American swimmer Katie Ledecky). The only athletes across all sports to do that so far in Olympic history are Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst and Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez. With two more Olympic golds, Carrington would reach 10 for her career. Michael Phelps is the only Olympian to win 10 or more gold medals, taking 23 from 2004-16. Other active athletes can also reach 10 Olympic golds: swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel each currently have nine, equestrian Isabell Werth of Germany has eight, gymnast Simone Biles has seven and Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has five with a shot at six more at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. Nick Zaccardi,
