Unstoppable McGregor charges to record tenth Berg title
Hank McGregor makes history at Berg River Canoe Marathon.
THE final stage of the this year’s taxing Berg River Canoe Marathon was a historic one for South African paddling icon Hank McGregor who became the first person in history to win the 240km clash from Paarl to Velddrif for a tenth time while Western Cape local Bianca Beavitt notched up her first women’s crown.
So dominant was McGregor throughout the race’s four days as well as the pre-race time trial, that the only prizes available to the North Coast paddler to have evaded him were the third and fourth stage bridge prizes.
“To win one is something special, to win ten is something everyone only ever dreams of doing and I’m sure it will only really sink in in a couple of weeks’ time,” said an elated McGregor.
“Its quite a relief to make it through four long days without having any problems and then to win the end sprint from Andrew (Birkett) today to get all four stage wins in a row and my tenth Berg win. I couldn’t be happier. I definitely think this was one of the toughest Bergs ever, especially yesterday, but it’s a pearler of a day today and today was one of the best paddlers I’ve ever had,” he said.
With a kilometer to go and the title all but decided McGregor thanked the three others for the company throughout the race before charging to the finish line ahead of Birkett to complete his Berg fairytale.
“I first went down a stretch of this river when I was six years old and from then on I always wanted to the Berg one day. My wife Pippa has supported me the whole way and I couldn’t have done it without her and maybe one day my son Thorsten will come paddle the Berg; for now though this one’s for us.
“I don’t know if I’ll be back but there’s something about this race that seems to keep drawing me back – probably because it’s the toughest race in the world,” said McGregor.
A strong international presence added extra flavor to this year’s Berg mix with Spain’s Kiko Vega and Czech Republic’s Jakub Adam securing third and fourth position respectively while Graeme Solomon finished fifth overall.
