Jenna claims bronze in canoe marathon world champs

Toti paddler, Jenna Ward claimed a bronze medal at the U23 women’s K1 race at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Oklahoma, USA on Friday, 26 September.

The Kingsway High School 2010 matriculant has competed at the world champs before, but this was her first time on the podium.

“I never thought it was possible and it didn’t seem real until I was on the podium and I was presented with my medal,” she said.

Jenna and her compatriots left for the States on 20 September and were fortunate to have a week to prepare and acclimatise on the course.

“It was nice to get there early. We trained on the course every day.”

The Boathouse District along the Oklahoma River is vying for an Olympic bid, so according to Jenna, all the facilities were “top class”. “Everyone said it was the best marathon course they had competed on. The course was very straight-forward and we completed six laps of the four kilometre course, with a 100m portage after each lap, with a good amount of space for all the paddlers to run on the grass bank.”

In the K2 open race, paddled with partner Haley Otto, the pair finished seventh, only one minute and 11 seconds behind the winner.

This was Jenna’s first trip to America, but unfortunately she couldn’t fit sightseeing into her busy schedule.

She flew back into Durban on Wednesday, 1 October to prepare for this weekend’s gruelling two-day 80km Fish River Canoe Marathon.

“I’ve finished fourth three years in a row and last year came third with Kerry Segal. This year I’m competing in a K1, so I think I’ve got a good chance, provided I stay in the boat and I am careful at the rapids. I’ve trained a lot harder and I’m the fittest I’ve ever been.”

The Toti Canoe Club paddler completed a bachelor of art business administration degree at Varsity College and is now studying part-time at Unisa towards a post graduate certificate.