PHOTO: CHRISTAL JACOBS/GAMEPLAN MEDIA
BRIDGITTE Hartley stole the limelight when she dominated the women’s section at the 2015 SA Sprint Championships held at Roodeplaat Dam in Pretoria over the long Easter weekend.
Although Hartley was dominant in all of her races, the Olympic bronze medallist was not entirely satisfied with her weekend, as she felt that she was always battling against something and did not seem entirely comfortable throughout the championships.
‘I am a little disappointed to be honest,’ said Hartley.
‘There were a number of factors that kept me from being able to focus properly, from the conditions to a number of delayed starts.
‘I was not able to get my body into a routine before races, which set me back a bit.’
Even though the sprint star battled to reach her full potential in her races, she got some much needed racing time.
Although the Championships did not quite go as well as Hartley was hoping for, she is still in great shape heading into the international season.
‘This is going to be a defining year for me, as the pressure of Olympic qualification and the challenges of this season are going to be different because I have to end in the top eight in the world if I want to compete at the Olympics.
‘There is a lot of hard work to be done, but I know that and I am really looking forward to what the season has in store for me.’
Results
200m K1 Finals women – 1 Bridgitte Hartley 00:43.76, 2 Esti van Tonder 00:44.06 and 3 Tiffany Kruger 00:45.49.
200m K2 Finals women – 1Tiffany Kruger and Esti van Tonder 00:40.74, 2 Bridgitte Hartley and Hayley Arthur 00:41.32 and 3 Brittany Petersen and Melanie van Niekerk 00:41.59.
500m K1 Finals women – 1 Bridgitte Hartley 01:57.14, 2 Esti van Tonder 02:00.72 and 3 Tiffany Kruger 02:01.63.
500m K2 Finals women – 1 Tiffany Kruger and Esti van Tonder 01:51.52, 2 Bridgitte Hartley and Hayley Arthur 01:53.53 and 3 Brittany Petersen and Melanie van Niekerk 01:56.72.
1000m K1 Finals women – 1 Bridgitte Hartley 04:16.49, 2 Stephanie Chen (Singapore) 04:25.88 and 3 Kerry Segal 04:29.38.
1000m K2 Finals women – 1 Esti van Tonder and Tiffany Kruger 03:52.57, 2 Bridgitte Hartley and Hayley Arthur 03:55.55 and 3 Donna Hutton and Kerry Segal 04:03.03.
5000m K1 Finals women – 1 Bridgitte Hartley 25:41.91, 2 Kerry Segal 25:43.18 and 3 Hayley Arthur 26:44.39.
5000m K2 Finals women – 1 Bridgitte Hartley and Donna Hutton 24:33.30, 2 Kerry Segal and Julia Trodd 24:33.98 and 3 Brittany Petersen and Melanie van Niekerk 24:34.73.
