Olympic sprint medalist Bridgitte Hartley has called time on her illustrious sporting career, as announced on Tuesday, 21 March 2023.
Hartley has decided to break away from competing over nearly 18 years in the sport.
Hartley won a medal in the ICF sprint World Championships, making her the first sprint canoeist and the first athlete from both South Africa and the African continent to do so.
She also won back-to-back gold medals in the K-1 200m and K1 and K2 500m races at that All-Africa Games in Maputo in 2011, and repeated the feat at the African Games in 2019 by taking home two golds.
In February 2022, she was elected as chair of the International Canoe Federation’s Athlete Committee.
In a heartfelt post on Instagram, Hartley said: “My brain has been fuzzy for at least 7 months trying to make this decision so I have decided that I need some guidance from Dr Kirsten van Heerden (it’s not a path any athlete should navigate alone after devoting so much of their life to their sport)
“How does one break up and away from a version of themselves moulded over nearly 18 years of chasing perfection of racing down a sprint lane in South African colours. Traveling the world mainly alone but making amazing friends through the journey on training camps and experiencing different cultures and different worlds to home. I have achieved some great results namely 3 world championship bronze medals and my most special the Olympic bronze from London 2012,” she continued.
“From 2005 at my first African championships, 2006 my first sprint world championships in Szeged Hungary! I competed on the sprinting world stage every year until 2021 besides 2017.”
In her message, Hartley thanked those who walked along in her journey and says she looks forward to the future, which include coaching: “Perhaps I will manage to take one of my athletes to the Olympic Games and experience it as a coach! I also have a role as the ICF athlete commission chair which is a learning journey too!”
“Here’s to a new challenges and new sporting dreams for the next 40 years.”
Photo 1 Caption: Olympic sprint medalist Bridgitte Hartley has called time on her illustrious sporting career, as announced on Tuesday, 21 March 2023. Photo: Bridgitte Hartley (Instagram)
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