REGAL Caitlin

Date of Birth: 9 Feb 1992

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Canoe Sprint	Women's Kayak Single 500m	9
	Women's Kayak Double 500m NZL New Zealand	1
	Women's Kayak Four 500m NZL New Zealand	4

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Double 500m Heat 4 #16	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Double 500m Semi-final 2 #34	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Double 500m Final A #42	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 500m Heat 3 #55	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 500m Semi-final 1 #78	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Single 500m Final B #89	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Four 500m Heat 1 #100	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Four 500m Semi-final 2 #116	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Kayak Four 500m Final A #124	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Year	Location	K4 500m
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	5

World Championships

Year	Location	K1 5000m	K2 500m	K4 500m
2019	Szeged, HUN	-	9	4
2018	Montemor-o-Velho, POR	DSQ	2	2
2017	Racice, CZE	-	1	3
2015	Milan, ITA	-	-	9
2014	Moscow, RUS	-	-	14

Oceania Open Championships

Year	Location	K1 200m	K1 500m	K2 200m	K2 500m
2019	Cambridge, NZL	3	2	3	2

World Cup overview - Three best ranks per season and event since 2017

Year	K1 500m	K2 500m	K4 500m
2019	-	1 x 5th	1 x 1st
2018	1 x 1st	1 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, 1 x 11th	2 x 1st, 1 x 2nd
2017	1 x 1st	2 x 1st	2 x 1st, 1 x 3rd

World Cup - Ten best performances since 2017

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
1	2019	Kayak Four 500m	World Cup	Poznan, POL	1:31.543
1	2018	Kayak Single 500m	World Cup	Szeged, HUN	1:46.576
1	2018	Kayak Double 500m	World Cup	Duisburg, GER	1:38.724
1	2018	Kayak Four 500m	World Cup	Duisburg, GER	1:31.652
1	2018	Kayak Four 500m	World Cup	Szeged, HUN	1:29.433
1	2017	Kayak Single 500m	World Cup	Montemor-o-Velho, POR	1:47.484
1	2017	Kayak Double 500m	World Championships	Racice, CZE	1:38.687
1	2017	Kayak Double 500m	World Cup	Szeged, HUN	1:38.349
1	2017	Kayak Four 500m	World Cup	Szeged, HUN	1:30.754
1	2017	Kayak Four 500m	World Cup	Montemor-o-Velho, POR	1:32.105

Legend
C - Canoe, K - Kayak, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DSQ - Disqualified

Cait, Caitmate [given to her by her father]. (caitlynryan.co.nz, 31 Mar 2020)

Occupation:

Athlete, Dental Technician

Health Science - Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Partner Nick Regal

Languages spoken:

North Shore Canoe Club [Auckland, NZL]

Gordon Walker [national]

Other sports:

She has competed in surf life saving at national level in New Zealand, winning multiple national surf ski titles in U16, U19 and women's open categories. (stuff.co.nz, 20 May 2015)

She joined the Red Beach Surf Life Saving Club in New Zealand at age five, and became a qualified lifeguard at age 14. She then transitioned to flat water paddling due to her talent for surf ski paddling. "I loved every moment of surf [life saving]. After school my mates and I would walk to the surf club and I would love the challenge on the water. Training with boys was pretty common - for me they were just like my brothers and they would treat me like one of the boys." (caitlynryan.co.nz, 01 Sep 2019; stuff.co.nz, 20 May 2015)

"At the age of five mum and dad enrolled me in Red Beach Surf Life Saving Club and the attraction to sport begun. I feel I have always been a super competitive person and I guess I have my brother to blame for this, we would compete against each other in everything which often led to tears and arguments." (caitlynryan.co.nz, 01 Sep 2019)

To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (caitlynryan.co.nz, 01 Sep 2019, 31 Mar 2020)

Competing in the women's K4 500m at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "This was the first women's K4 to go to the Olympics from New Zealand ever, and we placed fifth in the final, which has been seen as a large accomplishment after only being in a boat together for 18 months. Through this breakthrough of female team boats, the female kayak programmes are developing to become a more diverse sport in New Zealand, with young females becoming attracted to the sport." (caitlynryan.co.nz, 01 Sep 2019)

New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams. (canoeicf.com, 01 Sep 2017)

New Zealand paddler Lisa Carrington. (stuff.co.nz, 25 Aug 2018)

She always eats bread with peanut butter for breakfast when competing. The menu sprung from a nervous disposition prior to racing, as this was the only thing she could stomach. "Nutritionists are probably shaking their heads at me, but hey, it works." At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, before the K4 final, she ate Froot Loops for breakfast because she was too nervous to eat anything else. (stuff.co.nz, 25 Aug 2018)

Philosophy:

"I believe in sportsmanship first. The sport is the game, and we are all in it together. While I am very competitive, I also want to support all the competitors as we strive to make the sport of kayaking even better. I work every day to better myself and to most importantly enjoy the journey." (caitlynryan.co.nz, 01 Sep 2019)

In 2019 she won the Most Consistent Senior Woman and Most Outstanding Performance awards at the North Shore Canoe Club in Auckland, New Zealand. (northshorecanoeclub.org.nz, 23 Dec 2019)

In 2014, along with her K4 teammates Aimee Fisher, Jaimee Lovett and Teneale Hatton, she received Canoe Racing New Zealand's Team of the Year award. (canoeracing.org.nz, 05 Dec 2014)

General Interest

General
CONSIDERING QUITTING
She considered quitting the sport in 2017, but decided to continue after encouragement from coach Gordon Walker and New Zealand national teammate Lisa Carrington. "I got so lost in winning that it began to take a toll on my mental resilience, which affected my overall happiness as a person. All of a sudden I found myself in a hole I couldn't get out of. It was strange to feel so good about my performances but so lost as a person. I found myself stuck at a bit of a crossroad and I kind of lost my passion for the sport. I was in a world that I felt was spiralling out of my control, and the idea of retirement at the age of 25 was a real reality. My goals and intentions were so distorted. I had to spend some time focusing on myself a lot. I guess I was lucky enough to have Gordon and Lisa come upon me at the right time. They provided such huge support and an area of excitement I think I was lacking for a while. [Lisa] is a pretty cool chick and I'm lucky enough to paddle in a K2 and K4 with her but she teaches us so much in the training aspect, and she's got a bit more life experience." (stuff.co.nz, 25 Aug 2018, 16 Jan 2018)

OCCUPATION
She works as a dental hygienist in Auckland, New Zealand, where she specialises in working with children with dental anxiety. "I believe in finding balance in my life, and so along with training full-time I work as a dental hygienist. At some point, my sport will end and I want to have a really good career behind me. I'm so confident that I know where I want to be at, what I want to be once I finish. I don't know when I'll finish but I know it'll work out because I have these skills. It's so important for an athlete to be defined by more than their physical attributes." (stuff.co.nz, 25 Aug 2018, 16 Jan 2018; caitlynryan.co.nz, 31 Mar 2020)

Milestones

She and her teammates Aimee Fisher, Jaimee Lovett and Kayla Imrie became the first New Zealand sprint paddlers to compete in a women's K4 event at the Olympic Games. The quartet placed fifth in the women's K4 500m at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 28 Feb 2020)

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/caitlin.tamara.ryan
https://instagram.com/caitlintryan
Athlete Website: https://caitlinryan.co.nz

Legend

:: Gold Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos