Birkett and Zondi 2014 champions
Andy Birkett wins his fourth Dusi title while Sbonelo Zondi became only the second black paddler, after his former K2 partner Thulani Mbanjwa, to win the race.
THE final curtain came down on the 2014 Dusi Canoe Marathon amidst a frenzy of celebrations after Andy Birkett and Sbonelo Zondi were the first to the finish line at Blue Lagoon in Durban in front of thousands of supporters, friends and family to round out a near perfect performance by the pair over the three exhausting days of racing in the Msundusi and Mngeni River valleys.
With nearly nine minutes in the bag overnight, many expected the leaders to back off slightly on the third and final stage and play it safe however the impressive pair instead hammered the final nail into the coffin early in the day and then pushed themselves to a personal record time over the treacherous Burma Road portage before experiencing the thrill of crossing the finish line in front of Blue Lagoon’s lined banks.
“The whole journey has been amazing! I’m super chuffed, especially with our discipline over this last year, and it’s a really special feeling to have won!” said an elated Birkett. “It almost feels like this is the first Dusi I’ve ever won because of the whole change in start procedure here on day three and the finish is a really amazing experience!”
“At last! This is a dream come true for me! I’m so very, very happy! I can’ event express how happy I am today!” added a beaming Zondi.
It was a fourth win for Birkett after twice winning with Jason Graham and his individual title in 2011, but it was a maiden win for Zondi after near misses in the two previous years. He also became only the second black paddler, after his former K2 partner Thulani Mbanjwa, to win the race.
The unforgiving heat of day one and two continued into the third and final stage however, as predicted ahead of the race by many, the pair relied on their remarkable strength and character as they took on the tough Burma Road portage.
Triple Canoe Marathon World Champ Hank McGregor of Kayak Centre/Team Jeep and his surfski star partner Jasper Mocké put in a valiant effort throughout the three days however they were simply unable to match Birkett and Zondi.
“We gave it our all. We put everything we had into these past three days.. We were just beaten by two very good athletes,” said McGregor afterwards.
“We discussed things and decided to go over Burma (Road) and we gave it our absolute all. We only ended up losing two minutes to Andy and Sbonelo, which I thought was a brilliant effort from us, but they were just phenomenal.”
