STILBAAI NEWS - She may not have walked away from the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina with the result she wanted, but South African kiteboarder Rut Gouws knows she's now up there with the best.
Gouws has recently returned to her town from Buenos Aires, knowing that when everything comes together, she can compete with the top kiteboarders in the world. The 15-year-old finished the inaugural Youth Olympic kiteboarding competition 10th overall, but some tricky circumstances meant she wasn't able to compete in all the races. When she was out on the water, she managed to produce some promising results, showing her just what she's capable of.
"On the second day the wind was stronger than the first and the competition went better. I improved from ninth to seventh to 15th in the next three eliminations," she explained.
She won the B final, but because it is the B final she cannot get a higher place than seventh. Her overall position was eight at that stage.
The next day was a tough one for Gouws as a lack of wind meant she could not get out to the course 4 km offshore and missed two eliminations because of it, handing her maximum points.
The following day it was extremely cold and the wind was strong the way she likes it. When it was time for her race they started changing the course and again the wind dropped.
An official told her and another competitor that their race was cancelled, but then they still ran the race. "Due to that, they gave us both a redress, which means they gave me an average of my points, including the two worst scores."
After these three eliminations in which she did not race, she moved down to 10th place overall. And the rest of the day they did not race again.
That was the end of racing for the talented teenager as, due to a lack of wind, organisers decided the competition would go straight to the grand final, which only featured the top eight athletes. It was a disappointing way for Gouws to finish, but that was part of the learning experience.
"I think for the conditions and circumstances I did what I could. I was very disappointed that I missed some races.
If I was able to compete in those other three eliminations, I know that I would have had a very good chance to be in the top five at least, but I am still happy to be 10th.
"It's a huge stepping stone to the real Olympics, but it also showed me that there is always going be tough competition and things aren't always going to go as planned, but you've just got to keep on going," said Gouws. "The highlight was probably the moment I walked into the village wearing the green and gold. Also when I could compete, I was there up with the best."
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