Ward upbeat after Dusi partner’s arrival
Mt Edgecombe paddler looking forward to this year's Dusi.
HAVING forged a formidable combination with Abby Solms in recent months, Jenna Ward’s FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon partner, Vanda Kiszli, the Hungarian under-23 marathon world champion, has arrived in the country and has hit the ground running as they prepare for the 18 to 20 February showdown.
The Ward and Solms combination was in fine form with wins at all of the major Dusi seeding races so far, including the Umpetha Challenge, Ozzie Gladwin Canoe Marathon and the StaminGro 50 Miler.
“Abby and my results have come as quite a shock to me to be honest. I thought that we would do well in the women’s field but I didn’t expect to do as well in the men’s race,” Ward said.
With the recent arrival of Ward’s partner from Hungary, it is going to be an interesting month and a half for the pair as they build up for the iconic three-day journey, with Ward having to get Kiszli up to speed on river marathon racing.
“Vanda arrived on 4 January so it does give us quite a bit of time in the boat and hopefully enough time to get her up to speed with river racing – I don’t think she has ever done a river race before. I know that she is an incredibly strong paddler so I don’t think that we will have any problems on the water, but we will have to do quite a bit of running in our preparations,” Ward mentioned.
Despite the excitement of a tight ladies’ race, Ward feels that there is more at stake for them than just racing the other ladies.
“The Dusi is always two races in one, racing in the ladies’ race but also trying to race against the men and do as well as you can against them. It always adds a different dimension to the race and with a lot of men around us it will keep us focused,” explained Ward.
Ward’s Dusi experience is something that she is hoping to draw on in February, and although she won’t have too much time in the front of the boat between the festive season and the race, she is not too fazed.
“I am actually glad that I am going to be at the front of the boat again, I really enjoy driving. I have learnt a lot from Abby in the last few weeks; however, thinking back on it, I like to believe I would have done a lot of the same things that Abby did in terms of lines down rapids, et cetera. so I am confident that I can do the same come Dusi time,” a focused Ward added.
