Three Oz medals for Mount kayaker

Maunganui paddler Lisa Carrington completed an encouraging build-up regatta to this year's world canoeing championships with a triple-medal haul at the Australian grand prix on the Sydney Olympics course this weekend.

The 21-year-old surf lifesaver spearheaded the New Zealand contingent with a gold in the K1 500 plus silvers in the K1 200 and K4 500, a positive sign ahead of August's pivotal assignment at Szegad in Hungary.

Carrington bettered many of the rivals she can expect to race against at her second world championships, including Australia's Olympic bronze medallist Hannah Davis.

But the Whakatane-born paddler, who took up the sport after attending a camp held by New Zealand Olympic canoeing legend Ian Ferguson, admitted there was still plenty of improvement required before heading to Europe.

"I'm quite strong, but I've got a whole lot to work on so I just want to keep training hard and progress as much as we can between now and the worlds," said Carrington who teamed up with Teneale Hatton, Rachael Dodwell and Jamiee Lovett in the K4.

"It's our pinnacle event so we're working really hard to get there and using all the resources we have in New Zealand to make that possible," she said.