Local paddlers win big at SA champs
Sterling results for local residents Jenna Nisbet, Saskia and Valma Jean Hockly at the SA Marathon Championships.
MOUNT Edgecombe resident, Jenna Nisbet, and north coast paddler, Pippa McGregor, won the women’s K2 title in the final event of the SA Marathon Championships on Saturday.
The duo could be in line to represent South Africa at the world marathon championships in Ponte de Lima in Portugal at the end of September.
“We are really happy to come away with the win,” said Nisbet. “It was great to have Pippa back racing again. We have been putting in a lot of hard training in the past few months. Having chosen to focus on the K2, I am glad we managed to come away with the win. The first few laps were really tough with lots of intervals, but eventually, it came down to the two boats at the front.”
Nisbet said that the pressure from the young crew, Tannah Smith and Jade Wilson, who finished second, had made the race challenging.
“Training with Tannah (Smith) every day, and teaching her everything I know, made it quite difficult to pull off a move,” she added. “She knew exactly what I was going to do and when I was going to do it,” Nisbet said.
McGregor also praised Nisbet for her performance on Hazelmere Dam.
“Jenna is an absolute master at the marathon event, so it was a privilege to paddle behind her. It was tough racing against our training squad members, Tannah (Smith) and Jade (Wilson). They are very tenacious,” she said.
Elsewhere, the Hockly sisters also performed admirably with Saskia Hockly winning the U18 K1 title at the SA Marathon Championships on Friday.
A day later, Saskia followed that win up with Valma Jean, her sister and Danville Park Girls’ High School learner, as they secured the U18 K2 title at the championships.
At the conclusion of the national championships, the national marathon selectors will review the results and choose the team to represent South Africa at the world championships.
