Kia ora, I’m Lucy Matehaere (Ngāti Raukawa).
I represent New Zealand in Sprint Canoe (K1, K2 & K4 500m).
I recently competed at the U23 World Championships in Italy (2023) where I won the B final in the K1 500m (10th) and placed 7th in the A final in the K2 500m.
Currently, I coach kayaking at the North Shore Canoe Club (Lake Pupuke) where I train twice a day.
I’m passionate about developing athletes to be resilient and enjoy their sport, and lives outside of sport, as much as possible.
I’ve faced a few challenges along my journey so I am keen to share my experience and how to overcome setbacks in order to come back stronger.
More about me:
Previously, I’ve attended the U23 World Championships in Hungary (2022) and the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria (2018).
I began my kayaking journey in 2015 on the Dunedin Harbour after racing surf ski for one season. I first raced for New Zealand in 2018 at Grand Prix 2 in Sydney, Asia Pacific Sprint Cup in Adelaide and Junior World Championships later that year. In early 2020, I moved to Auckland after being selected in the NZ High Performance Invite Squad.
In my spare time I’m studying part-time at the University of Auckland for a BSc in Biomedical science. I am also a research assistant for Project Kāinga (projectkainga.co.nz).