Canoe Racing New Zealand has contested the decision to controversially axe Kiwi great Lisa Carrington's favoured discipline for the 2024 Paris Olympics and beyond.
On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that - based on a recommendation from the International Canoe Federation (ICF) - the men's and women's K1 200 would be replaced by two extreme canoe slalom disciplines.
Carrington has established herself as the world's best in the women's K1, having won gold medals at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, with her sights set on claiming a third straight in Tokyo next year.
Canoeing NZ chief executive Tom Ashley confirms that his organisation is one of 20 to have signed a letter appealing for the ICF to reverse its decision.
"It's really disappointing," Ashley tells Newshub.
"We've been working really hard with a bunch of federations from other countries to challenge the ICF on their decision-making process.
"The IOC has ratified this recommendation now, which is a bit of a setback, but we'll see if there's anything more we can do."
Ashley says they'd only been made aware of the proposal 10 days ago.
"It's certainly not ideal when these kinds of things aren't really signposted in advance," he says.
"But I guess these kinds of things happen and there is change from time to time, so we just have to roll with it."
A group of athletes has also begun a petition to the IOC for the event to remain a part of the Olympic canoeing programme.
According to Ashley, Carrington and her cohorts have been left "disappointed" by the news, which comes as another blow to the sport.
But that disappointment doesn't apply to Kiwi slalom ace Luuka Jones. The new extreme slalom events will offer her avenues to hang more medals alongside the silver she won in Rio.
"It's pretty incredible," Jones tells Newshub. "Now I have the opportunity to win three medals at the Olympics as opposed to just one.
"It's huge for our sport."
The 32-year-old says the introduction of the events may steer her away from retirement.
"I was really on the fence, but it kind of has planted a seed in my mind," she admits.
"It would be amazing to compete in three different disciplines in Paris, so who knows. I'll have to weigh up my options after Tokyo."
