Dream duo of Birkett and McGregor lining up Dusi assault
Six-time champion Andy Birkett will pair up with canoeing great and Euro Steel team mate Hank McGregor for the 2018 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon.
ANDY Birkett dropped a bombshell ahead of the 2018 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon from 15 to 17 February by confirming that he has scooped multiple world champion Hank McGregor as his partner for the three-day K2 championship race.
Birkett has won the Dusi K2 title four times, with three different partners – Jason Graham, Sbonelo Khwela and Lance Kime – while McGregor has also won the K2 race with the “Dusi Duke” Martin Dreyer.
ALSO READ: Best of the best take on tough Beach Patrol contest
With McGregor entrenched in his K2 partnership with Capetonain Jasper Mocké that has brought them repeated world K2 championship gold medals, few saw the Dusi combination with Birkett coming.
“I raised it just before the Fish this year. I was amped that he took it seriously and then got back to me and agreed to race together. He is such a great athlete with a phenomenal pedigree that I am so excited for this year’s race,” said Birkett.
While the pair have fought it out over a number of years for the various marathon titles throughout South Africa, the 2018 Dusi will be their second major outing together, after having won the 2015 Umkomaas Canoe Marathon.
Their rivalry has developed a mutual respect between the two and Birkett is looking forward to paddling in a boat with one of the all-time greats of canoeing.
“Hank has raced some great Dusi K2s races, but with paddlers that might not necessarily be specialist Dusi paddlers, so I am really keen to see what we can achieve together. We have become good friends over the years and I have a healthy respect for him.”
The 2018 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place from 15 to 17 February from Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon in Durban.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
