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USC student kayaker seeks Olympic edge
A year out from the London Olympic Games, University of the Sunshine Coast Journalism student and champion kayaker Pierce Hardy has set his course.
The Moffat Beach 20-year-old recently made the Australian under-23 Kayaking Team and travelled to his first big international regatta where he came fourth in the K1 1000 event.
“That’s the premier event for kayaking and the conditions were rugged in Bochum (Germany) so I was quite happy with the result,” said Pierce, who is also a Mooloolaba surf life saving competitor.
He will mix full-time study at USC with a solid training program at Kawana Waters Canoe Club for the rest of 2011, while competing in further events such as the Vajda National Sprint Series.
Early next year he hopes to paddle into Open selection for the July Olympics and/or make the under-23 team for the World Kayaking Championships in 2013.
Pierce was a national medal winner in swimming and kayaking as a teenager at Pacific Lutheran College but has focused on kayaking since being tested by the National Talent Identification Squad at USC’s Sippy Downs campus.
He is mentored by his father Jeff Hardy, who won gold at the 2000 Sydney and 1996 Atlanta Paralympics for 400m freestyle swimming and was inducted in the Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
Pierce said he chose to study at USC in 2010 because he liked the University and its proximity to his training at Lake Kawana.
“Writing was my strong suit at school so I’m studying Journalism to hopefully get into sports media,” he said.
“I really enjoy the teaching and there’s great flexibility for my training.”
– Julie Gatehouse