Richard Cele from Victoria Lake Canoe Club (VLC), based at Germiston Lake, was one of the Top 50 silver medal finishers at the 2017 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon.
He was also the third Gauteng finisher at the event, which was particularly gruelling this year.
While the first day of the Dusi in Pietermaritzburg, on February 16, had good water from recent rainfall, the race gradually got tougher over the next two days.
With a total of 120km to cover in the three days, contending with temperatures in the Dusi Valley of between 40 and 50 degrees, as well as strong winds over Inanda Dam, and hardly any water in the river for day three, this year’s race definitely earned its reputation of being the world’s toughest canoe marathon endurance race.
The top Gauteng finishers who were in the Top 50 silver medal winners were: Siseko Ntondini (Soweto, eighth), Loveday Zondi (Soweto, 12th), Richard Cele (VLC, 23rd), Shaun Maphanga (Florida Lake Canoe Club, 29th), Phineas Zulu (Soweto, 38th), Kelvin Byres (Dabulamanzi Canoe Club, 40th), Nkosi Mzolo (Soweto, 44th) and Siyabonga Tyiki (SOW, 45th).
Cele, who comes from the Dusi Valley, finished the 120km gruelling challenge in 9 hours 54 minutes over the three days.
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