Local paddlers shine at ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships
Hank McGregor and Saskia Hockly claim podium finishes.
Local paddling superstars Hank McGregor and Saskia Hockly recently added more world medals to their glittering cabinets.
Competing at the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Madeira, Portugal, on October 4 and 5, the duo claimed three bronze medals between them.
Salt Rock’s Hank competed first in the SS1 senior men’s division, racing across 21.5km of open water off the Portuguese island.
He finished in a time of 1: 28:34, about a minute off first place, to claim another world medal and add to the latest chapter in his storied career.
At the other end of the experience scale is young Saskia, who has seen a meteoric rise over the past few years of international competition.
The Umdloti local competed in two events in Portugal, grabbing a bronze medal in both events.
First up was the SS1 U23 women race, where she finished in a time of 1.47 flat, about three-and-a-half minutes off the gold medal position.
Photo: Madeira Ocean Challenge.
She followed that up with a mixed medal alongside Matthew Fenn in the SS2 senior race.
The duo raced to a time of 1.30:50, just a minute-and-a-half behind the leading team.
That was not the end of the international season for Hockly however, as she jetted off to China to compete in the inaugural Hangzhou Super Cup last weekend.
It means she has competed in different disciplines in South Africa, Australia, Croatia, Portugal and China in just the last two months alone.
She was unable to add to her medal tally in China however, registering a fourth placed finish in the K1W 3.4km final, later finishing 6th in the K1W 15km race.
The North Coast did have a double medal winner though in the form of recent Olympian Hamish Lovemore – another Umdloti local.
He claimed a bronze medal in the K1M 3.4km final in a time of 14:09, later adding a silver medal in the K1M 21km race in a time of 1.30:21.
This concludes a fantastic season for North Coast paddlers, who have delivered a bagful of medals and an Olympic berth between them.
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