That is the view of triple Olympic Games gold medallist Paul MacDonald, who was in Dunedin as the guest speaker at the ASB Otago Sports Awards.
In an interview, he said there were hundreds of teenage girls at secondary school who wanted to emulate Carrington's deeds. But there were not enough coaches available to develop the skills of the budding canoeists.
''There is no career path available for top coaches in the sport,'' he said.
''There are people keen to coach but the money is not there. New Zealand sport is still lagging behind in their recognition of coaches.''
MacDonald said other countries had better coaching systems and facilities than New Zealand.
''Kids are doing wonderful things in secondary school sport but it stops for the majority after the age of 17 or 18.
''There are so many talented kids out there but we fail to grab them.
''I have seen a lot of young girls who just want to paddle like Lisa Carrington, who is so talented and good-looking.
''It is just a matter of getting them into the sport and getting the structures in place.''
MacDonald did not want Canoe Racing New Zealand to repeat its failure to capitalise on the deeds of MacDonald and Ian Ferguson in the 1980s. The pair won seven medals - five gold, one silver and one bronze -at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.
MacDonald said money would come into canoeing from High Performance Sport New Zealand because of Carrington's gold medal.
''At the end of the day, you need success on the water to grow the sport,'' he explained. Kayaking in New Zealand was strong at the elite level but was struggling at the development stage.
''We have got to take the casual school athlete and take them to the pre-elite and pre-international level,'' he said.
MacDonald won five Olympic medals - three gold, one silver and one bronze - during his career. His first Olympic title was at Los Angeles in 1984 in the K2 500 with Ian Ferguson.
''It was the first Olympic medal I got to hold and we won it and won it well,'' MacDonald said.
''We went to bed that night and got up the next morning and got another one.
''They are all special. My kids are already fighting over them. My youngest wants the first two.''
