Umdloti paddling stars Hamish Lovemore and Saskia Hockly both earned silver medals at the weekend’s ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships.
Held in Metkovic in Croatia, the event drew the global cream of the canoeing crop to compete for glory between Thursday and Sunday.
Lovemore was the first local to medal, building on the momentum he gained from becoming an Olympian earlier this year.
His medal came in the K1 Men’s Senior Short Race, an all-out sprint across 3.4km.
Facing off against a stacked field of 20 international athletes, Lovemore delivered a fantastic performance to finish in 12:41, just 14 seconds behind Denmark’s Mads Pedersen.
The silver was his third worlds medal alongside an U23 marathon gold and U23 sprint bronze, both in 2022.
Hockly was in action the next morning in the U23 K1, but did not finish after being disqualified.
She rallied for her main event on Sunday, the K2 Senior Women’s race alongside Durban-based partner Christie Mackenzie.
“We raced a 27km course, which consisted of seven laps and six portages, with a small sausage lap afterwards before the finish,” said Hockly.
“After the disappointment in the U23 race, my spirits were still elevated because I’ve medalled at every single marathon champs I’ve been to. I wasn’t going to go home without one this year.
Her prediction proved accurate, as she and Mackenzie saved some excellent paddling for the final against 12 other teams.
They stayed within touching distance of the winning Hungarian pair throughout most of the punishing race, losing no more than 3 seconds over any of the first six laps.
But a 21 second loss in the final lap confirmed their second place position, an excellent finish for the young pair on the grandest stage.
“It was my sixth marathon champs medal and the second at a senior level. It was super special to have done it with my good friend and training partner Christie.”
There were a few other locals involved in the event too, including paddling legend Hank McGregor (5th Senior K2 and 9th Senior K1), Pippa McGregor (semi-final Senior Women’s Short Race) and up-and-comer Keegan Vogt (4th K1 Men Junior U18).
Find the full list of results at canoeicf.com/canoe-marathon-world-championships/metkovic-2024
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