Homestead is the home base for world champion canoeist
Apparently there is a big difference between a canoe and a kayak.
In South Africa most of us think that a kayaker and a canoeist are one and the same thing, but there are a few differences between the two types of paddlers.
Just ask Ekurhuleni Kayak Club’s (ERK) Radowslaw ‘Radek’ Olszewski or ‘Radical Radek’, as he is known in the paddling fraternity, who is one of a few true European-style canoeists in South Africa.
The anaesthetist doctor, who works at the Netcare Clinton and Union hospitals in Alberton, recently returned from the International Canoe Federation’s (ICF) Canoe Marathon Masters World Cup, held at Prado Vila Verde in Portugal, with two gold medals around his neck in the C1 (single boat, men’s 50 to 54-year-old category) and C2 (with German partner Christoph Machinski in a double boat) masters marathon races, defeating prestigious opponents from all over the world.
In paddling terminology, the ‘C’ stands for canoe as opposed to ‘K’ for kayak.
Kayaking is popular in South Africa for both rivers and flat waters such as lakes, whereas canoeing is a flat water sport mainly in the domain of Europe.
Although canoeing is not confined to Europe, it is a sport of national status particularly in Eastern and Southern Europe.
South Africa is a strong contender in kayaking events, but diminutive in the canoeing events.
This makes Radek’s two gold medals extremely praiseworthy.
“In a canoe you kneel on your knee while in a kayak you sit inside the boat,” said the canoeist who moved to South Africa in 1990 and who has been a South African national for more than half his lifetime.
“In South Africa everyone is confused because they say they are canoeing meanwhile they are kayaking.
“The Dusi Marathon guys are not canoeists, they are kayakers.”
Radek said that it takes about a year to learn to balance correctly and to paddle straight in a canoe whereas in a kayak it should take about three months.
“It’s very difficult to paddle a canoe,” he said.
“The balancing in the boat is most difficult because your centre of gravity is much higher when you kneel.
“Also, in a kayak you have two paddles, but in a canoe you’ve got one paddle with one blade only.”
Asked about the competition he faced in Portugal, Radek said: “The biggest competition always comes from the Spanish guys or Eastern Europeans.
“I had a bad start in the C1 race, I came last at the start, but I caught up with everybody and beat them by four minutes, which was quite strong.
“My biggest problem was the start because the water was so shallow that you could stand in the middle of the river and there were also lots of rocks.
“I made a mistake at the start and had to stop for a moment because there were rocks in front of me, but I still managed to get ahead of the 19 guys who started.”
Asked about the potential for growth of canoeing in South Africa, Radek said: “There is potential here, but it’s very difficult to canoe so not many people want to do it.
“There are a few guys doing it though.
“I had a partner at one stage, Calvin Mokoto, with whom I came eighth in the world in 200m sprints about 10 years ago, but now he has stopped due to work commitments.”
Radek trains on Homestead Dam about four to five times a week, come rain or shine.
Each session lasts about an hour and is supplemented with additional vigorous gym workouts.
The daily training times take place between his schedules of operations.
He has been paddling on Homestead Dam for about 11 years and regards it as “the best place to train”.
“There are no motorboats and generally we have beautiful weather here,” said the Bedfordview resident.
Homestead has a proud heritage in the spawning of paddlers.
Sprint kayakers such as Bridgitte Hartley, Shaun Raubenstein and Alan Hold trained on the lake to become world champions and Olympic contenders, while other quality marathon kayakers have cut their teeth on the Benoni water body.
LISTEN to Caxton Radio’s Logie G interview with the world champion canoeist:
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/logie-g-interviews-ekurhuleni-kayak-clubs-world-champ-canoeist-radowslaw-radek-olszewski
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