Stellar year for SA paddlers

CANOEING enjoyed one of its most successful years ever in 2013 with the sport crowning four South African World Champions, and a whole new generation of stars emerging from the domestic ranks. (View Gallery)

A young, twelve-man squad of the country’s emerging sprint talents also headed for Tunisia recently for the African Sprint Championships and a fourteen medal tally, including three golds and eleven silvers, once again stamped the country’s mark on the continental showcase and gave many of these future stars much needed international exposure and confidence.

ICF Canoe Marathon

The 2013 ICF Canoe Marathon World Champs took place on the flat waters of Lake Bagsvaerd in Copenhagen, Denmark in September and saw a huge South African team laid siege to the event. In the men’s K1 race all eyes were on Hank McGregor, twice winner of the world k1 title, and hungry to bounce back after being controversially disqualified at last year’s World Champs in Rome.

McGregor labeled the moment as the greatest of his career, with his dad and new wife in the stands to share the moment with him. McGregor’s triumph was fresh off the back of U18 girls rising star Kirsten Flanagan’s faultless silver medal efforts the day before while fellow Varsity College SA Schools Surfski champion Kenny Rice was the top placed South African junior boy in a brave and hard-fought seventh.

Surfski world champs

The South African canoeing year was also defined by the first ever International Canoe Federation-sanctioned Surfski World Championships which were held in Portugal in July. The women’s race was totally dominated by South Africans, with a one, two, three podium finish comprising of Michele Eray (winner), Michelle Burn (second) and Nicki Mocke (third). .

In the men’s race a strong field of South Africans squared off against a potent Aussie contingent, with some of the world’s top sprinters in the mix and keen to take advantage of mild ocean conditions. It was however Capetownian Sean Rice, who had done his homework on the course best and found himself controlling the race at the front.

Local surfski scene

Numerous local surfski events regularly boasted fields of world class proportions with many a intriguing battle unfolding in KZN, the Eastern Cape or the Western Cape’s waters throughout the year.

The local surfski scene was capped off in ideal fashion for the later globally crowned Sean Rice and Michelle Burn as they claimed the men’s and women’s SA S1 Champs titles respectively.

Drak Challenge

The year got underway with the hugely popular N3 Toll Concession Drak Challenge in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal and did Mother Nature get things off with a bang!

Torrential rainfall in the small catchment area overnight meant the uMzimkulu River went from worryingly low to a raging torrent of boat-eating swells. Organisers were forced to make the tough decision to reduce the field to only A-grade paddlers with a revised, shortened course on the flooded river later opened to the more social participants.

With triple defending champ Hank McGregor ruled out of the clash due to international surfski duty, it was the turn of Durban North resident and U23 star Grant van der Walt to shine as the now highly regarded ace soared to his maiden senior K1 victory in one of South Africa’s majors, overcoming Len Jenkins and his younger brother, Brandon, along the way.

The ladies Drak encounter saw Abby Adie cruise to victory ahead of Robyn Kime and Jen Theron.

Dusi Canoe Marathon

The three day-long iconic event from Pietermaritzburg to Durban – the Dusi Canoe Marathon – was once again a hugely anticipated affair as all of the country’s top elite paddlers looked to add their name to the record books.

Lance Kime eventually claimed his maiden Dusi victory and mark his arrival as a serious force to be reckoned with on the South African river racing scene.

It was a golden day for the Kime family all-round as Lance’s sister Robyn came home to clinch the ladies title and in so doing set a new record as the first siblings to win the Dusi in the same year.

Hansa Fish Canoe Marathon

The duo of Hank McGregor and 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 a 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.

Stu Hogg, who suffered debilitating injuries from a car crash in 2008 and having led the way for South Africa’s Paracanoeists at the 2012 Paracanoe World Championships, continued his remarkable and inspirational efforts by, with the assistance of his fellow paddlers and an unwavering determination, completed the Hansa Fish for the first time, paving the way for fellow paracanoeists in the future.

More info can be found at www.canoesa.org.za