Lisa Carrington, a New Zealander kayaker, won a clean sweep of gold at the Paris Games. She kept her cool and won the 500m women's single kayak race. Carrington now has eight gold medals to her name.

The 35-year old Kiwi had to use all of her paddling expertise to win her third gold medal at the Paris Games. She won in the four and double earlier in week. Hungary's Tamara Csipes took the silver and Denmark's Emma Aastrand Jorgensen picked up the bronze.

Carrington, beaming, said: "I've been on many podiums over the years with those two girls. It's special to be with them."

Carrington, a New Zealander, was pushed hard by Csipes but she managed to keep her cool.

It was really cool that she gave me a fight, and that was cool. It was great that she fought me. That was awesome.

Carrington, despite being New Zealand’s most successful Olympian ever, said that she doesn’t let her medals define her.

She said, "It is not about the number of gold medals I have. It is about the hard work and effort to be better, grow, not to focus on the results, not to think that my identity is tied to those golds."

"It has been amazing to be able to ignore expectations for the past 12 years."

The Kiwi, whose fearsome reputation preceded her, has maintained a calm and confident demeanor throughout the Games.

She said, "It's difficult not to expect something. When you feel you can achieve it, it is hard to not worry or see it as an expectation. But I also think that I must know that this is a possibility, and not think of it as something I need to do but as something I want to," she explained.

"And that's part of the Olympics. The biggest stage for you to perform, to do what you can do any day." (Reporting and editing by Christian Radnedge.)

(source: Reuters)