New Zealander Lisa Carrington again lit up the nautical stadium at Vaires-sur-Marne on Friday, winning her seventh Olympic gold medal with a typically dominant display together with Alicia Hoskin in the women’s kayak double 500m race.
On a day that featured four medals and many tight finishes, the Kiwis blasted into the lead in their final and never relented, leaving the rest of the field in their wake as Carrington’s personal gold rush continued, adding to the one she got in the kayak four on Thursday.
Their winning time of 1:37.28 was more than two seconds faster than silver medallists Tamara Csipes and Alida Dora Gazso of Hungary.
The official result of the race came after an agonising wait for the remaining competitors but it ended in joy for both the second Hungarian boat, crewed by Noemie Pupp and Sara Fojt, and the German pairing of Paulina Paszek and Jule Marie Hake.
Both crews received a bronze medal after finishing in a tie for third place.
The men's race was much tighter, with Germany's Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke winning gold in a time of 1:26.87, just ahead of Hungary's Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka, while Jean van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green of Australia took the bronze after a photo finish.
The Chinese pair of Xu Shixiao and Sun Mengya powered to victory in the women's canoe double 500m final, setting an Olympic record of 1:52.81 and breaking the mark of 1:53.73 that they had set earlier in the day.
Ukraine's Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok came in second to take silver, with Canada's Sloan Mackenzie and Katie Vincent finishing third.
With a tailwind providing some of the choppiest waters seen at the Nautical Stadium, Xu and Sun got off to an excellent start but the Canadians kept the pressure on them before fading over the final stretch.