CANOEIST Bridgitte Hartley will go into the London Olympics with four years of confidence-boosting experience behind her as she competes in her specialist event at the Games for the first time.
Hartley reached the semifinals in the K2 500m race after only three months training with partner Michele Eray in her Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Despite earlier sterling performances, Hartley had to surrender the solitary women's K1 500m berth to Jen Hodson at the final qualifying event in Szeged, Hungary. In the build-up to the Beijing Games, Hartley had won K1 1 000m gold and silver medals at World Cup regattas. She eventually settled for a place in the K2 boat with Eray.
Since her maiden appearance at the quadrennial showpiece, Hartley has grown in stature on the sprint canoe circuit.
She made her global breakthrough in 2009 when she became the first African canoeist to win a medal at the Canoe Sprint World Championships, clinching bronze in the K1 1000m final in Dartmouth, Canada.
Her pre-Beijing heartbreak, when she failed to book her place in her specialist event, provided extra motivation this time around as Hartley secured her spot in the team for the London Games in emphatic style.
Having missed out on qualification for the A-final in the women's K1500m event at last year's Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, she showed her class in the B-final by setting an unofficial world record.
Hartley annihilated the rest of the field, clocking 1min, 46.906 seconds, which would have secured gold, had she reached the A-final.
While she remains a relatively unknown quantity in SA's Olympic team, her performances over the past four years have made her a real medal contender at her second Olympics. "If I get it right my chances are good," she says.
Record-setter Hartley gets chance at gold
CANOEIST Bridgitte Hartley will go into the London Olympics with four years of confidence-boosting experience behind her as she competes in her specialist event at the Games for the first time.
Hartley reached the semifinals in the K2 500m race after only three months training with partner Michele Eray in her Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Despite earlier sterling performances, Hartley had to surrender the solitary women's K1 500m berth to Jen Hodson at the final qualifying event in Szeged, Hungary. In the build-up to the Beijing Games, Hartley had won K1 1 000m gold and silver medals at World Cup regattas. She eventually settled for a place in the K2 boat with Eray.
Since her maiden appearance at the quadrennial showpiece, Hartley has grown in stature on the sprint canoe circuit.
She made her global breakthrough in 2009 when she became the first African canoeist to win a medal at the Canoe Sprint World Championships, clinching bronze in the K1 1000m final in Dartmouth, Canada.
Her pre-Beijing heartbreak, when she failed to book her place in her specialist event, provided extra motivation this time around as Hartley secured her spot in the team for the London Games in emphatic style.
Having missed out on qualification for the A-final in the women's K1500m event at last year's Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, she showed her class in the B-final by setting an unofficial world record.
Hartley annihilated the rest of the field, clocking 1min, 46.906 seconds, which would have secured gold, had she reached the A-final.
While she remains a relatively unknown quantity in SA's Olympic team, her performances over the past four years have made her a real medal contender at her second Olympics. "If I get it right my chances are good," she says.
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