Germany came in second and Hungary third but it was the Kiwis who were triumphant, with Carrington, her nation's most successful Olympian of all time, slapping the hull after they crossed the finish line in first place after a tough battle.
Known as "The GOAT (greatest of all time) in the boat", Carrington and her crew had to dig deep in a thrilling race to keep the Germans at bay.
The Kiwi crew got away quickly and were ahead at the halfway but the Germans briefly took the lead only for Carrington, in the front seat of the boat, to up the tempo in a frenetic sprint over the final 100 metres to snatch the gold in a time of 1:32.20, 0.62 seconds quicker than the Germans.
"This one is pretty special - to do it with these girls, the amount of work that we have all put in is pretty special," an elated Carrington said.
"You never know what the end result is going to be when you line up and I think that is why sport is so thrilling. It's such a privilege to be out there with the best in the world and they bring out the best in us."
In the final medal race of the day, Germany's four-man kayak team edged Australia by four-hundredths of a second to take gold in their 500 metres finals race, with Spain claiming the bronze.
China's Liu Hao and Ji Bowen got the medals parade under way earlier in the afternoon, powering to victory in the men's canoe double in a time of 1:39.48.
In a tight finish, Italy came in second to grab the silver medal, with Spain finishing a tenth of a second behind them to claim the bronze in a confusing finish that saw the Hungarian crew named as among the medallists before being dropped to sixth position.
After two silvers in Tokyo, China's Liu was delighted to finally pick up an Olympic gold medal.
"It really means a lot to me, and it is very important for the country as well, it is compensation for what I have done in the past," Liu said.
"We learned a lot from Tokyo, it really is an evolving thing, and we have worked incredibly hard on all the things that can make a difference, and it was really nice to see that come together today," Kiwi kayaker Alicia Hoskin said.
The New Zealanders may have looked under pressure late in the race, but Olivia Brett said it was all part of their plan.
"It kind of looks like that when you're watching the race, but for us that's our strategy, and we executed the game plan we know we can do. When we do a little bit of a lift, everyone has that last little bit of heart," she said.