Don’t underestimate the heart of Hartley

Bridgitte Hartley competes in the Womens Kayak Single (K1) 500m final during the Olympic Games Canoeing event at Eton Dorney on 09 August 2012 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Bridgitte Hartley competes in the Womens Kayak Single (K1) 500m final during the Olympic Games Canoeing event at Eton Dorney on 09 August 2012 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Published Jul 26, 2016

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Johannesburg - Canoeing is one of South Africa’s true Cinderella sports, with many people labouring under the misconception that the annual Dusi Canoe Marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban is the be-all and end-all of the sport in this country.

The purist knows, however, that the biathlontype, adventure-racing conditions of the Dusi is about as far from pure canoeing as possible, and that the 500m flatwater sprint is the real test of speed, power and tactics in a kayak.

All of which makes Bridgitte Hartley’s bronze medal at the 500m K1 (single) event at the London Olympics in 2012 all the more remarkable.

It is no surprise Hartley was introduced to river canoeing by her father, presumably with the thought that his sporty daughter may one day end up competing in the Dusi.

Luckily, for South African canoeing, Hartley veered off the traditional path of most local canoeists and discovered a talent for flatwater sprinting.

On August 17 and 18 at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Hartley will hope to add a second Olympic medal to her collection, but this time she is probably even more of an outsider after a tough few seasons.

She went to the London Olympics as something of an unknown, despite having represented South Africa in Beijing in 2008 in a K2 (double) canoe with Michelle Eray.

But the Joburg-born canoeist, who describes herself as an “optimistic blonde”, turned herself into one of the darlings of the country when she secured the bronze with a gutsy, come-from-behind paddle over the 500m course.

Hartley first showed she was capable of big things when she surprised the canoeing world with a win in Szaged leg of the World Cup in 2009 and then followed that up the same year with a bronze at the World Championships in the non-Olympic distance of 1 000m – earning South Africa’s first World Championship sprint medal.

And then, two years later, just as she was looking in danger of becoming a one-season wonder, Hartley secured her Olympic qualification with a world best time to prove she could be a contender for medals in London. But, like Rio this year, she was far from a sure bet.

At London, Hartley paddled a perfectly controlled race to move into the medal positions late and beat off the challenges of opponents of far more illustrious standing.

After those Games, illness hampered her racing schedule and despite a 500m World Championship bronze medal from Moscow in 2014, she has struggled to find the consistency to show she is still a serious threat in Rio.

Her best results in 2015 and this year have been a couple of sixth positions in World Cup events, which would point to her being little more than a finalist.

But Hartley makes a habit of proving people wrong and do not be surprised if you see her broad, infectious smile beaming from the podium on August 18.

The Star

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