BY GRANT MOYO
ZIMBABWEAN Olympic eventing rider Camilla Kruger says she and her horse Biarritz will continue with their preparations for a second Olympic dance despite the uncertainty surrounding rearranged Tokyo Games next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which were scheduled to commence on July 24 in Tokyo, Japan, will now take place next year from July 23 to August 8.
There are, however, fears that the rearranged Tokyo Olympics next year might have to be cancelled completely amid fears that it would be difficult to stage them if the coronavirus pandemic is not contained.
Despite the lingering doubts surrounding the event, Kruger, who became the first Zimbabwean equestrian rider to compete at the Olympic Games four years ago in Rio de Janeiro, is continuing with her preparations in a bid to qualify for her second global sporting showcase.
“I have kept my preparation pretty much the same as my prep before Rio, I have just changed my prep work. I’ve been doing more gym and fitness training, including playing hockey to get diversity. I also have been seeing a performance coach to help with assessing the work in progress. I have a very balanced diet; I eat lots of meat and vegetables. I also eat fruit and health bars for snacking throughout the day and specific daily vitamin supplements too,” Kruger told Standardsport in an interview.
Kruger competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she placed 35th in the individual competition.
Reflecting on her performance in Rio, Kruger described her Olympic debut as an eye-opening experience that is providing her with some valuable lessons in her journey towards next year’s showpiece event in Tokyo.
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“During the Rio journey, I was enlightened a lot about how Sam the Man coped with travelling long distances on a plane. I learned how important all the training prior to the games is, once you’re at the international games there is so much to take in and cope with. You have to just trust what you know and do it,” said Kruger “I did an average performance at Rio; I have worked very hard at this phase and feel I am much stronger and more confident. Looking back, cross-country was one of my best rounds, foot perfect, but a little slow, merely that was our tactic for this event. Show jumping was good, but I over-rode the second part of the course,” she said.
Having ridden all her life, Kruger started her professional eventing career aged 18 years.
The 33-year-old grew up on a family farm and then moved to the UK for her education. She has formed a strong bond with her horse Biarritz, who she made her Olympic debut with in South America.
“Biarritz also known as Sam the Man, was born and bred in Holland. The ‘Shamwari Syndicate’ bought him when he was four years old from his breeder Jeng Dijs. I have trained Biarritz since he was four years old; he is now 14 years old and still going strong. He has been at top level since he was eight years old. Top placing third at Hopetoun, in Scotland, and many wins as well as top three placings at national level,” Kruger said.
Kruger and her team have also set aside a special training programme for Biarritz to ensure he is in optimum condition for the qualification period for next year’s Games.
“Biarritz, gets worked six days a week with one day off. We try and keep his training varied with sessions that include hack (fitness), lunge (strength or no pressure workout), school (dressage training), canter work (speed fitness), and jumping water treadmill (resistance work),” she said.
“He has a very specific diet that has been designed by Pure Feed Company. It is a high-in-fibre diet, with all nutrients and vitamins he requires. He is then supplemented with extra electrolytes and Vitamin E. To add to that, he then has ad lib steamed hay and grass,” said Kruger.
