South Africa’s Bridgitte Hartley was impressive in her domination of the women’s race on stage one of the 2022 Fish River Canoe Marathon on Friday, 7 October.
The race wasn’t quite as clear cut, however with Hartley’s overnight lead she showed how much power she has despite an early swim.
“I didn’t feel too great on the dam and on the run but wanted to get into the river and calm the nerves,” Hartley said. “I came in at a bad angle at Double Trouble and I swam and made a real mess of that because when I got back in because I couldn’t get my boat around.
“I just wanted to get comfortable after that but I was a little stressed before Soutpans because I knew if I made a mistake there it was going to be tough for me.
“I had a good run through Soutpans and I always think the race starts from there and I had a good clean run into the finish.”
Hartley’s stage win sees her go into the second and final stage with a sizeable lead over Christie Mackenzie in second and Jordan Peek in third.
The second and final stage of the race will see paddlers race 37km from Knutsford to Cradock.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – Fish River Canoe Marathon (Stage One – Grassridge Dam to Knutsford)
Senior
1.Bridgitte Hartley 3:24:48
2.Christie Mackenzie (U23) 3:27:14
3.Jordan Peek 3:31:11
4.Kirstin Scott 3:41:44
5.Jade Dundas-Starr (U23) 3:44:41
Under 23
1.Christie Mackenzie 3:27:14
2.Jade Dundas-Starr 3:44:41
3.Tracey Oellermann 3:45:07
Photo 1 Caption: Women’s race leader Bridgitte Hartley in action at Soutpansdrift Rapid on stage one of the 2022 Fish River Canoe Marathon on Friday, 7 October. Photo: Bruce Viaene/Gameplan Media
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