SOUTH African paddling star Hank McGregor made history and smashed the race record as he won the Maui Jim Molokai Challenge at the weekend, while surfski queen Hayley Nixon finished third in the ladies’ race.
McGregor, who has won the event on two previous occasions, showed his class in an exciting showdown with Australian Cory Hill that went right down to the final few kilometres.
It wasn’t plain sailing for McGregor who lost his 20 second advantage after taking a swim in the closing kilometres of the race but he was able to regroup and beat Hill on the flat section into the finish line.
The field that takes on the Molokai is often as tough as it gets and with a World Championships later in the year, the win was a good gauge for McGregor and his form going into it.
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“You are up against some of the best paddlers in the world and it is an honour to be there and racing against them. And to be at the front is also a privilege,” he said.
There was another fantastic South African performance from Josh Fenn who finished in fifth place overall. It was the 19-year-old’s first outing in Hawaii for the gruelling race.
Tyron Maher was the other South African in the men’s race, finishing 14th.
In the ladies’ race, Hayley Nixon was third behind Jordan Mercer, who also set a new record, and Georgia Laird.
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