Durban - Amanzimtoti paddler Tiffany Kruger will join the SA team in London on Friday, ahead of her event in the Olympics.
Kruger left Durban on Thursday and will be competing next Friday in the 200m canoe sprint.
A space constraint in the SA team’s accommodation meant she had to delay her departure for a few days.
She was very excited and said she would do her best and go all out “like any other athlete who goes to the Games, I hope I will win… and qualify for the finals”.
She was glad she had stayed behind, she said, as she had more time to prepare.
“The weather in South Africa has been great and that was perfect for training,” she said.
The 25-year-old said
she was motivated by the successes of other SA athletes, especially local lad, Chad le Clos, who won a gold medal for swimming.
“I am happy that Durban can produce athletes who can compete with the best in the world and be on top.”
Tiffany’s mother, Jennileigh, said she was proud of her daughter and encouraged her to do her best. “I am so nervous for her, I don’t even think I will watch it on TV. She must do her best and remember everything that her father has taught her,” she said.
Her father, Gordon, said his daughter had started paddling at 16.
“She knows what she has to do. There is only one person that can help her when she is over there and that is herself,” he said. - The Mercury