Earlier in the day she had picked up bronze in the K1 500m and the day before had finished third in the K1 1,000m.
The 39-year-old, a coach at Maritzburg College and also chair of the International Canoeing Federation’s athletes’ commission, has become an increasingly familiar face in river marathon racing, finishing second at the Dusi earlier this year.
“It has been an eye-opener to attend meetings and conferences and hear from athletes that I respect and admire, about shifting focus after your competitive career,” Hartley said in a post on the Canoeing SA website.
“It helps to have a stepping stone out of your sport. When you let go you seem to lose part of your identity, and it helps to have a new identity.”
A middle-distance runner at school, Hartley intends doing the Two Oceans half-marathon next month and competing with Pippa McGregor at the Prescient Freedom Paddle surfski race.
The federation said her Olympic feat sparked a growth in sprint canoeing, which locally is small compared to river and ocean racing.
“It feels good to know I have made an impact in my own way,” she added. “I am excited to see the drive in my College guys aiming to qualify for the Olympic Hopes regatta, as they aim to build sprint careers.”
Paddling star Bridgitte Hartley retires from sprints, pushes for distance
Image: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Bridgitte Hartley, who won South Africa’s only Olympic canoeing medal in the most dramatic fashion at London 2012, has retired from sprint racing, Canoeing SA announced on Wednesday.
She crossed the line at Eton Dorney in such a tight finish she didn’t know if she’d made the podium until the results flashed on the giant screen showing she had taken the K1 500m bronze by 0.274 sec ahead of the fourth-placed finisher.
Hartley, who also competed at the 2008 and 2016 Olympics, picked up all three of the country’s world championship sprint gongs from 2009 to 2018.
She also set a world best in the K1 5,000m at a World Cup regatta in the Czech Republic in May 2009, clocking 20 min 10.1 sec as she edged out Maryna Paltaran of Belarus by 0.1 sec.
Birkett wins 10th consecutive Dusi title in 'challenging' conditions
Earlier in the day she had picked up bronze in the K1 500m and the day before had finished third in the K1 1,000m.
The 39-year-old, a coach at Maritzburg College and also chair of the International Canoeing Federation’s athletes’ commission, has become an increasingly familiar face in river marathon racing, finishing second at the Dusi earlier this year.
“It has been an eye-opener to attend meetings and conferences and hear from athletes that I respect and admire, about shifting focus after your competitive career,” Hartley said in a post on the Canoeing SA website.
“It helps to have a stepping stone out of your sport. When you let go you seem to lose part of your identity, and it helps to have a new identity.”
A middle-distance runner at school, Hartley intends doing the Two Oceans half-marathon next month and competing with Pippa McGregor at the Prescient Freedom Paddle surfski race.
The federation said her Olympic feat sparked a growth in sprint canoeing, which locally is small compared to river and ocean racing.
“It feels good to know I have made an impact in my own way,” she added. “I am excited to see the drive in my College guys aiming to qualify for the Olympic Hopes regatta, as they aim to build sprint careers.”
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