Nation’s best show off at SA Sprint Champs
Dozens of canoeists took part in the SA Sprint Champs at Shongweni Dam recently.
OLYMPIC star, Bridgitte Hartley, ticked another vital box in her preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro at the South African Sprint Championships at Shongweni Dam recently.
“We were up in numbers from juniors right up to seniors this year,” said event organiser, Kim Pople. “One real positive about the event was that we had five para-paddlers taking part in their own categories. The 200m senior and U23 K1 races had to be decided via a camera because they were so close.”
The course had been given a positive review by Hartley following the KZN Championships and her sentiments seemed to be echoed following the national showpiece.
Bridgitte had to win her 500m A final in order to comprehensively secure her spot in the South African team to Rio. She did not leave anything up to chance in her 500m final as she won the race by just under three seconds with Esti van Tonder in second and Kayla de Beer in third.
The overall Victrix Ludorum was a one-person race as Hartley out-classed the rest of the women’s field, while the Western Cape’s Bianca Beavitt claimed the overall silver medal with U23 paddler and Milnerton star, Melanie van Niekerk, taking third place.
The racing was red-hot throughout with a number of the categories being fiercely-contested as the senior Victor Ludorum prize was fought out between U23 sprint ace, Louis Hattingh, and Western Province sprint star, Ant Collopy.
The top South African paddlers can now look forward to testing themselves against the cream of the continent’s sprinters when the African Sprint Championships take place at the same venue from 1 to 3 April, where the six-continental berth for the Rio showcase will be decided.
The African Sprint Championships take place at Shongweni Dam from Friday, 1 to Sunday, 3 April.
South African Sprint Championships results:
Senior Victor Ludorum
1. Louis Hattingh (U23) 63.0
2. Anthony Collopy 58.0
Senior Victrix Ludorum
1. Bridgitte Hartley 101.0
2. Bianca Beavitt 65.5
3. Melanie van Niekerk (U23) 55.5
Junior boys
1. Jean van der Westhuyzen 97.0
2. Jarryd Gibson 71.5
3. Mark Keeling 65.0
Junior girls
1. Donna Hutton 80.0
2. Kyeta Purchase 62.0
3. Sabina Lawrie 61.0
