Olivier to paddle her way to 2024 Olympics
“It’s my best World Cup season to date, against the strongest field of athletes across the board.”
South Africa’s canoe sprint veteran Esti Olivier has put the disappointment of not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games behind her and is now working on earning her ticket to Paris 2024.
Milliseconds in qualifying events and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (Sascoc) new qualification policies meant Olivier missed out on the only event she had never participated in.
For the 2024 Olympic Games, however, things are looking up for the 30-year-old because of her performances in the build-up competitions and the positive news coming out of Sascoc’s Olympic House.
She recently returned from the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poland last month, where she finished fifth in the women’s K1 200m A final, won the B final K1 200m sprint and clinched the K1 1 200m in the women’s B final.
“It was my most successful international tour to date, leading up to the ICF World Championships in Germany in August and the Olympics next year,” she said.
“For Paris, things are on track. I’m excited. Sascoc changed its policies, and the noise we hear now is positive and more athletes-orientated in terms of supporting athletes and realising that the qualification criteria for all sporting codes are different.”
Olivier said the sport had taught her discipline, perseverance and dealing appropriately with victories and losses.
“It’s pushed me to try, help and change the lives of athletes and try and fill the gaps where I experienced shortcomings.”
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A shortcoming Olivier faced in her decade-long career was funding.
She had had to dip into her pockets to fund her many international trips. While she called for more investment in the sport, she acknowledged money alone won’t fast-track its growth.
“We are lacking, but this doesn’t mean we can’t put decent structures in place because we don’t have money. Often people are blind to the fact that we lack funding.
“We do need the money, but we can put good structures in place by creating strong training groups, a competitive environment and ensuring sessions are taken seriously. We need the right people, structures and support,” she said.
Olivier looked on with pride as many young paddlers got in and out of the water and copied their professional idols at the Homestead Dam during the Gauteng Canoe Marathon Championships earlier this month.
She told Benoni City Times that despite a lack of resources for development, there’s lots of growth in the sport.
“It’s fantastic to see children in the water, mimicking what they see from the professionals. It’s healthy for the sport to see this growth.
“I think the structures in place need some changing and adapting. Athletes grow through experience, and the more experience and exposure we can give them through high-level competitions, the stronger and better the sport will be.”
