McGregor and Van Der Walt paddle to fourth title
Fourth successvie title for local paddle duo.
THE duo of Hank McGregor and Durban North resident, Grant van der Walt, rewrote the record books at the Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon as they wrapped up a fourth successive K2 title on a day of drama that saw the leaderboard dramatically shaken up, while women’s overnight leaders, Abby Adie and Anna Adamová, enjoyed an unchallenged second stage to claim the ladies’ title.
McGregor and Van Der Walt started over four minutes ahead of overnight second place holders Ben Biggs and Alasdair Glass, and succeeded and maintained their advantage throughout the 36km stretch from Knutsford to Cradock to eventually cross the line in 4:48.07.
“We had a faultless day, it was a bit lonely and pretty cold but we just looked to keep things conservative and not try be heroes and it all paid off in the end,” said recently crowned Marathon World Champ, McGregor.
“Today was probably the best I have ever shot Cradock Weir and after that it was great to come home to get our fourth win in a row together and my fifth, so I’m very happy.”
“We had a really good weekend together,” added Van Der Walt. “We both weren’t feeling great coming into the weekend after all the travel but it was great to be back at the Fish and the win is obviously great!”
In the ladies’ race, Adie and Adamová showed a clean pair of blades to their chasers, Robyn Kime and Bridgitte Hartley, as they cruised to a commanding victory, Adie’s second K2 victory in a row having claimed the 2011 women’s title with Hilary Pitchford.
The win was also the ideal 24th birthday present for Adie. “I couldn’t have asked for a better present,” beamed Adie afterwards. “We managed to hang onto a good bunch of guys early on and that really helped us.”
