Maiden Dusi title for O’Donoghue
The mother of two tasted victory for the first time.
Laura O’Donoghue claimed an emphatic win in the Dusi’s women’s race, where she dominated from start to finish ahead of U18 Cana Peek and Jenna Ward.
Having built up a healthy 30-minute lead going into the final day, it was a matter of maintenance and consistency for O’Donoghue through the final day and that was what she produced despite feeling flat throughout the final stage of the three-day epic.
“I’m proud of my result. I really have trained hard over the past few months so I wanted to do well and make this race count. The legs were really tired this morning and I think I also got a bit complacent towards the end and made a few mistakes, which was a bit disappointing, but it doesn’t really matter in the end, I’m here now and I’m really happy!”
The mother of two tasted victory for the first time on Saturday but was not tempted into returning to defend or even compete for her crown, and with her children growing up the amount of time she has spent away from them has been hard.
“This is the proudest moment of my career. It has been a whole year of build-up, a lot of sacrifice for the whole family. The Natal Canoe Club has really helped me achieve my dreams and I’m really excited to have finally done it,” she added.
Women’s results:
1. Laura O’Donoghue 9:40.21
2. Cana Peek (U18) 10:10.48
3. Jenna Ward (U23) 10:15.02
4. Jordan Peek (U23) 10:21.04
5. Hilary Bruss 10:29.32
