Olympic medallist Bridgitte Hartley showed she has lost none of her competitive fire since retiring from international sprint canoeing as she and Pietermaritzburg student Ross Palframan claimed the KZN mixed doubles on the Umzimkhulu River near Underberg recently.
Hartley, who announced her retirement from international sprint canoeing earlier this year, and Palframan were able to see off the challenge of Underberg local Scott Little and his partner Rachel van Deventer after the young U23 crew took a swim near the finish. That setback allowed Hartley and Palframan to enjoy an unexpectedly easy final few kilometres and robbed spectators of a potentially exciting sprint finish.
The two leading boats had broken away relatively early in the race and after their rival’s unscheduled swim, the Olympic star and her young partner ended up building a 93-second lead at the finish. Little and Van Deventer were followed home 36 seconds later by Msawenkosi Mtolo and Libby Ross and then a few seconds later by Murray Behn and Hilary Bruss. The first U18 crew to finish was Jack Owen Odell and Jessica Behn in fifth position.
“It was never an easy race and especially when you try to kind of push the pace a little bit in the beginning to drop a couple boats,” said Hartley.
“We thought that maybe there would be a few more crews together at the finish after there were four boats in the group in the beginning, but it whittled down quite quickly and it was just two boats for most of the way.”
“I think Scotty Little and Rachel were really paddling well and they had some good speed. They challenged us through some rapids once or twice so we were expecting to have an exciting end-sprint at the finish.
“But just before Glenhaven they seemed to hit a rock and took a small swim, and we put the hammer down and we found a nice rhythm towards the end. Ross chose some great lines and I literally just had to keep quiet in the back and paddle.
“The river was really at a comfortable level where we could really get through everything in a double. If you have enough water to get through in a double then it definitely makes it fun and it was such lovely day as well.”
The mixed doubles champs is a popular race that traditionally ends the year’s racing for most competitive paddlers, but it starts the so-called ‘Drak Season’ of races on the Umzimkhulu River in Underberg which culminates in the N3TC Drak Challenge on January 27-28.
KZN MD championships leading results:
1. Bridgitte Hartley/Ross Palframan 1:13:57
2. Rachel Van Deventer/Scott Little 1:15:30 (1st U23)
3. Msawenkosi Mtolo/Libby Ross 1:16:06
4. Murray Behn/Hilary Bruss 1:16:10
5. Jack Owen Odell/Jessica Behn 1:17:29 (1st U18)
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