Sprint for glory
Kerry Shuter excels at the International Canoe Federation's Junior and under 23 Canoe Sprint World Championships.
The competition was held from 1 to 4 August in Canada. Following in the wake of the bronze medal earned by Bridgitte Hartley at the London Olympics in 2012, the canoeing unions are working flat out to uplift and improve the overall standards of sprint, the Olympic Discipline throughout South Africa.
After stringent sprint training camps and an exhaustive three days of selections, Gauteng was proud that three under 23 as well as three under 18 paddlers from the province were selected to be in the 13 man squad, to represent South Africa at the championships.
Jennie Dallas from the Gauteng Canoe Union said, “There was little doubt that Under 18 Kerry Shuter who lives in Victory Park and attends De La Salle College of Mercy would be selected for the squad as her canoeing sprinting ability has been noticeably impressive for some years. She trains at Emmarentia Dam for Dabulamanzi Canoe Club.”
During the competition Shuter raced in the K1 and K2 disciplines in 200m, 500m as well as 1000m. Her best achievement was a fifth place in the B final of the 500m, where she finished in the K1 in two minutes and one second. She was placed 12th overall of the junior women’s sprinters.
