RETUNRING from seeing their daughter create Olympic history at Rio de Janeiro, we spoke to Glynis and Pat Carrington about what life is like being the parents of a top level athlete, and specifically, what it’s like being the parents of Lisa Carrington.
Have you had time to recover from Rio yet?
Glynis: Not quite. It’s been a busy time as we were straight back to work the morning after we got home. Rio is feeling like a bubble in time now, its surreal. There are moments when it takes a photo or a conversation with someone to bring it home. We’re so happy we all got to go. Both of our sons came too, and it was the most amazing experience for our family.
Tell us about Rio. How stressful was it to watch Lisa compete at that level?
Glynis: I don’t think stressful is the right word. We get nervous for her though, and for the expectations she carries. But we try not to get stressed because there really is no point. We know she always pulls out her very best for every race, and for us, no matter the outcome, that will always be good enough. We always say “enjoy today” because regardless of what your race result is, life goes on, and it’s your experiences that you will take forward with you.
Were you able to see Lisa before her first event, the K1 200?
Glynis: We were in touch by phone when we first arrived in Rio the day before, but we didn’t see her until after her first heats and semis. That was fine, we didn’t expect to. We know she has a very good support team that look after her and she’s pretty good at looking after herself, so we don’t need to worry too much for her when she’s building up to a big race.
What was it like to be in the stands watching her events?
Glynis: Exciting. And lots of fun. Not just because Lisa was competing, but because it’s amazing to be at an event that athletes have spent so many years training for. And we had a great group and did pretty much everything together. We were there with the Lovett’s (fellow competitor Jamie Lovett’s family) along with Lisa’s partner and some of her close friends. We had nine Whakatane people there. Having people to share it all with is good. It makes the races more exciting than stressful. And we were lucky with the weather too – apart from the rain at the closing ceremony, which was heavier than it looked.
So how did you all celebrate after Lisa won the final?
Pat: We all went out for lunch, family, friends and the coach. I had the most fantastic beef. There was a great sense of relief for Lisa but there was no relaxing. She still had another event to go. She was really busy with training and physio and dealing with the media, and preparing herself for the next race. We kept in touch by phone over the next couple of days. We would just remind her that we love her, that we are here and supporting her, and to just enjoy it. The next time we saw her was after her 500 final where she won bronze and we went out to celebrate with lunch again. Same little café. Same great beef.
You flew back to NZ with the Olympic team
Glynis: Yes, it was a fun way to travel. The welcome for the athletes at the Cloud in Auckland was great, but they were all very tired. And for Pat and I, arriving home in Ohope was very humbling. So much goodwill and messages of congratulations. And it wasn’t even us that won.
The acknowledgement of Lisa was awesome. It was incredible to see how closely people had followed her events and supported her in their own way. Not just nationally, but here at home. When you’re over there, it’s easy to get out of touch with what it all means for people at home.
It’s easy to see where Lisa gets her humbleness from. But really, you must be very proud?
Pat: We are extremely proud. Of course. Not only of her dedication and commitment and the hard work she’s done to get where she is, but of the person she is. She’s very supportive and respectful of her competitors. She knows how hard it is to get to that level and she cares about them whether they are her top competition or not. We’ve always tried to instil that in our kids, that respect, and we are proud of her being a strong example of that.
Do you try to get to many of Lisa’s events around the world?
Pat: We do, but it’s not always possible. We’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of them and we’ve been to many countries we otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Lots of Eastern Bloc countries and it’s been really interesting. We like to be there to support her when we can, even though we know she will always give her best, whether we are there or not.
But we’ve always supported all our three children in their sports events since they were little. I don’t think we ever missed many. It’s just that now it’s on a bigger stage. A much bigger stage! When Lisa first competed in an overseas event we thought, “oh, we better go do this, she might not do it again”. And then she was to compete in her first World Championship and we thought, “holy, that’s incredible, we better go,” and then it was the London Olympics and so on. We never really saw it all coming. We just took it a day at a time. But yes, of course, we are very proud.
Tell us about the closing ceremony.
Pat: Well, we didn’t have tickets to the closing ceremony. We had all planned to go to New Zealand House and watch it there because they had great coverage of all the New Zealand events there, and you couldn’t get that anywhere else. But on the final afternoon we found out Lisa was going to be flag bearer and we thought, holy, we have to go. So we got tickets online and had an amazing experience. New Zealand House has the best barbecue beef though. I’d been looking forward to it.
Lisa Carrington won gold at the Rio Olympics in the K1 200 event and Bronze in the K1 500. She won gold at the 2012 London Olympics K1 200. She has been world champion in the event five times and world champion in the K1 500 once. She has set a number of fastest recorded times. Lisa is also the first person to medal in two separate events in Olympic history.
Show your appreciation for Lisa Carrington’s success in Rio at a parade in her honour on The Strand at 12 noon on Monday, September 19.