New Zealand’s first female Olympic flat water kayaker

Red Beach lifeguard Erin Taylor has created history by becoming the first woman to represent New Zealand in flat water kayaking at the Olympic Games.
Her Olympic dream has become a reality after training in flat water paddling for just over two years. There is no doubt that her surf lifesaving background has helped substantially.
She paddled into contention last March when she beat her Australian counterpart Alana Nicholls by 1 ½ boat lengths in the women’s K1 500m at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.
She also set one of her fastest 500m times by winning the race-off in 1:53.77. At 20 years of age she has a ranking of number 14 in the world.
Taylor joins Ben Fouhy, Steven Ferguson and Mike Walker in New Zealand’s Olympic kayaking team to compete in Beijing in August.
The four paddlers head for Europe on 25 May to compete in World Cup regattas in Budapest, Germany and Poland during June. From the beginning of July they will spend five weeks training in Rockhampton before flying to Beijing. The team is coached by Olympic gold medallists Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald. To read the NZ Herald article of 17.5.08, click here.