The Fish Hoek High learner sweeps the U18 K1 events and sets her sights on marathon qualification and future international competition.
Cape Town, South Africa (20 April 2026) – At just 16, Fish Hoek High School learner Bella Strydom is already carving out a name for herself in South African canoe sprint.
Bella recently made headlines after clinching triple gold in the U18 K1 category at the South African Canoe Sprint Championships held in Roodeplaat in March, winning across the 200m, 500m and 1000m distances. But her rise in the sport only began less than two years ago.
“I started off doing lifesaving as an under-15, around 2023 into 2024, and at the time I was really just doing it for fun. But I realised that I wanted to improve my paddling specifically, so around June 2024 I started training more seriously in that area. Then later in the year, around September to November, I properly committed to training, and by May 2025 I had started competing.”
Growing up in Fish Hoek, Bella has always been drawn to sport, particularly those connected to the water.
“My entire life, I’ve always been involved in at least one sport. When I was younger, I was very into water polo, but eventually I had to stop to focus on paddling. Living here definitely played a big role in shaping that passion.”
Heading into her first national sprint championships, expectations were modest.
“My main focus was actually just to improve my 500m time, and beyond that I wanted to see where I stood in sprinting and where I could improve. It turned out to be a really enjoyable competition overall.”
That enjoyment translated into a dominant performance across all three distances, each requiring a different approach. Despite her success across the board, Bella admits she is still figuring out where her strengths lie.
“I’ve probably enjoyed the 1000m the most because I’m used to paddling longer distances. But the 500m is very important to me because it’s the Olympic distance, so that’s something I’ve been putting more focus on.”
Her performances have already earned her national recognition, with selection for the ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships. However, she opted to prioritise another goal.
“I was very happy to be selected, it’s always special to be recognised at that level. But unfortunately it clashes with the SA Marathon Championships, which I’ve chosen to focus on because I want to qualify for the World Marathon Championships.”
Balancing early morning and afternoon training sessions with school life is no easy task, but she remains grounded in her goal.
“I usually train before school and again afterwards. But when it comes to racing, I just try not to overthink things. I remind myself that I’ve done the work and the training, and I just need to go out there and perform to the best of my ability.”
For Bella the journey is still unfolding. With clear goals in mind and a growing presence in the sport, her focus remains on doing the work and letting the results follow.
Sources: GTG Interview
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