Top 10 Dusi finish for local paddler
Local paddler makes his mark at the FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon.
The 2018 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon took place between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on February 15, 16 and 17.
The race covered a distance of about 120km, and this year’s instalment was raced in extreme heat as well as humid, overcast conditions which are common for this time of the year in the area.
While the river is frequently in flood between December and March, the last few years of drought have had a huge impact on the river’s water levels, making it even tougher for the paddlers.
The Dusi is known as the toughest canoeing endurance race in the world, with many of the portages based on the original Dusi in 1965, when the participants had wooden/canvas boats and no dams, no water releases and no choice other than to pick up their boats and run or walk with them for kilometres around tricky rocky rapids.
While top 10 finishers receive gold medals, the top 50 also receive silver medals, and the top three positions per age category are awarded podium positions as well as special medals.
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Richard Cele, a member of the Germiston Lake-based Victoria Lake Canoe Club (VLC), and his KwaZulu-Natal partner Nhlanhlayakhe Cele (a family member who knows the river well), finished as the ninth boat across the line to earn a top 10 gold medal, an achievement they can be proud of.
They finished the race in eight hours and 43 minutes.
A number of Sowetan paddlers who train at Emmarentia Dam partnered with locals from the Dusi valley who train on the river, taking advantage of their knowledge of local conditions to allow them to finish in better positions.
Siseko Ntondini, partnering with Sbonela Khwela, finished third overall – a fantastic achievement that made Ntondini the top Gauteng finisher in the race.
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