Alexa Lombard's golden year
1 November 2005
The canoeing community is toasting Cape Town paddler Alexa Lombard, who was named joint SA Sportswoman of the Year by the Sportswriters Association of South Africa in Bloemfontein on the weekend.
Lombard shared the award with tennis star Liesl Huber, who hit the headlines by winning the Wimbedon doubles title this year.
The award caps a stellar year for Lombard, in which she cemented her position as the best female marathon paddler in the country, and then went on to win a medal at the World Championships in Australia in October.
Titles
In the period under review by the sportswriters, Lombard won every single women's marathon title on the South African calendar. She scooped the SA K1 title on the Hansa Powerade Drakensberg Challenge last year, and then added the SA K2 river title on the Men's Health/New Balance Breede Marathon.
In mid-year she took both flatwater marathon titles at the SA Marathon
Champs in Plettenberg Bay. Her win in the K1 was particularly significant, as she has been working on her sprint speed to make her truly competitive at the flatwater champs format.
Lombard made history in the annual Isuzu Berg Marathon when she placed eighteenth overall, the first time ever that a woman has raced into the top 20 overall.
World Championship silver
In October, Lombard added the cherry on top when she and her clubmate, Donia Kamstra, raced to the silver medal at the World Marathon Championships in Perth, Australia. Ironically, her medal at the worlds fell outside of the period under review for the awards.
"It is awesome to be recognised," Lombard said after the awards in Bloemfontein. "Our sport used to be seen as a minor sport, a 'Cinderella' sport, but awards like this are so important, because it shows that we are being noticed.
"After getting the silver medal in Perth, I have to look ahead and set my goals for
the coming year, and it's not easy," said Lombard.
Future obstacles
"I can aim to get the gold next year, but to compete at the highest level you have to go for sprints, and try to make the Olympics. That will be very tough for me, as there are huge obstacles in the way, like work and finances.
"It's also a milestone for women's canoeing," said Lombard, who has been at the forefront of the debate about the rise in the standard of women's canoeing.
Lombard will benefit from the appointment of Roger Hegedus as the new regional coach in the Western Cape. Hegedus has settled in Cape Town, and will function as one of three senior coaches falling under the national High Performance Director's guidance.
Source: Canoeing South Africa
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