Winter arrived in full force in Gauteng over the weekend of the SA Canoe Marathon Championships, when the cold front brought icy air and numb toes in the early mornings of Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8, at Homestead Dam.
Without a coastal wind to fuel the cold air, however, the Highveld sun soon warmed the region as well as the paddlers, many of whom wore only short sleeves or just vests.
The two hour-plus workout steamed up their bodies despite the splash of chilled water from time to time.
The strong field of nearly 250 competitors, attracted by good prize monies and assisted by the support received from the City of Ekurhuleni, as well as Birchwood Hotels, who provided special rates for accommodation, while Jeep (Sandown Motors) assisted with the provision of shuttles had every reason to participate.
The red hot racers included former and current world marathon and surfski champions Hank McGregor, Grant and Brandon van der Walt, as well as multiple Dusi winners Andy Birkett and Abbey Adie, Olympic medallist Bridgitte Hartley, a crew of Australians and the cream of South African paddlers.
The Gauteng locals were hard put to achieve top positions and podiums in various age categories.
The singles (K1) race took place on Saturday and included paddlers from the Gauteng School League, from ages seven and up, while the doubles partnerships (K2) event took place on Sunday, June 8.
The top racer from ERK, who hosted the inter-provincial event, was again Michael Stewart, who managed to achieve only a fourth place in the veteran men’s age category (40+ years), after a close photo finish race, completing the gruelling 22.5kms in a time of one hour and 50 minutes.
The race consisted of six laps around Homestead Dam, with five portages, which required the paddler to take out the boat and run a short distance carrying it, to put it back in and continue with laps.
A smooth transition for take-out and put-in, as well as strong running ability, can enable a paddler to gain an advantage over a less efficient rival.
With the high standard of canoeing abilities on show, it was seldom that a top paddler botched the take-outs and put-ins, while the runs were fast and furious.
Stewart was also the first K2 finisher on the second day of racing, partnering with Luke Symons, from Emmarentia Dam’s club.
Full results from the event : (click the links for the PDF results)
GUPPY RESULTS 7-6-2014 JUNIOR K1 RESULTS 7-6-2014 K1 Final Entries K2 Start Times MASTERS K1 RESULTS 7-6-2014 SENIOR and U23 K1 RESULTS 7-6-2014
