Bridgitte Hartley, a member of Pietermaritzburg’s Natal Canoe Club, has been nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year Award at this year’s SA Sports Awards, which take place in Bloemfontein on November 22. "It was a surprise, actually," she admitted this week.
"It is an honour to be nominated, a bit of a surprise, but a nice one at that. I have been quite consistent throughout the year. I haven't, in my mind, had the best results, but, at the same time, I have achieved quite a lot of goals along the way, and I think that is important," Hartley added.
Natal Canoe Club General Manager, Brett Austen Smith, said the 2012 London Olympic medallist’s nomination was well deserved: "Her nomination is an honour and it is fantastic that she is getting recognition for the seriously hard work that she has put in, and the fantastic results that she has achieved," he reckoned.
Hartley said she felt that government is becoming more aware of the smaller sports codes, but federations, too, have begun to play their part by nominating their leading performers.
"Paddling is definitely growing and getting better in South Africa," she said, "but sprinting is a discipline that is still hard to tap into because the rest of the world is quite focussed. They don't have the options of being able to do river races, marathons, surfski, and things like that.
"The sprinting side of things isn't going as strongly as I would have hoped [in South Africa], but canoeing is growing and there are more chances of getting involved. There are a lot more youngsters that are improving and will be able to shine in South Africa on a marathon level."
Looking ahead to Rio 2016, Hartley said the pressure in the year before the Olympics was almost greater than in the year of the Games, because it is all about qualifying for a place at the Games. If that box is not ticked, then there is no Olympic pressure to concern oneself with.
"I am in a good position at the moment, having qualified for my spot at the Olympic Games. I have a berth for South Africa, and I don't have 10 girls breathing down my neck, like a country like Hungary," Hartley said.
"At this stage, I have a lot of support from [Sascoc's Operation Excellence Programme] Opex and Canoeing South Africa, because there is money available for Olympic preparation. It is not 100 percent (I don't think it ever would be), but, at the same time, I would never have been able to travel and train overseas if it wasn't for Opex and for money I have received from Canoeing South Africa."
With the Olympics less than a year away, Hartley said she could feel the pressure building. "I know in my heart that everyone expects another medal, and a better medal [than bronze], but I can't allow that to put too much pressure on me, because the other girls are training just as hard. I have to make sure that when I line up on the start line, I have done everything possible to get as fit and strong and fast as I can. If I can get another medal, that would be really amazing. If not, I will have to say I have done everything I can and that was the best result I could achieve on the day.
"It is all about having an almost perfect race on the day when it counts the most. When the nerves set in, it is just about focussing on your technique in your race and fighting right up until you cross the line. I am capable of doing it again. It is just about getting the timing right, and getting it right on the day."
