Sublime Solms and Kožíšková cruise to maiden Dusi title
Solms finally added the only major river title in SA that was missing from her outstanding record, while Kožíšková became the first foreign winner of the Dusi.
AFTER dominating the first two days of the 2016 FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon, Abby Solms and Anna Kožíšková duly wrapped up their maiden victory in the race as the focus of the final day’s racing shifted to the battle for second place on the final day on Saturday.
Day one brought with it rain and mud, day two was about the heat, and day three’s challenge turned out to be a driving headwind, which made for a very difficult paddle into the finish at Blue Lagoon in Durban.
After finishing as the runner-up six times, Solms finally added the only major river title in South Africa that was missing from her outstanding record, while Kožíšková became the first foreign winner of the Dusi
“There was such a crazy headwind on the dam, huge waves of about half-a-metre crashing into the boat,” the six-time runner up said.
“Some of us had to go to the edge and empty our boats. I don’t know how long it took us to get across there. Even when running Burma Road, we had the wind pushing the boat from the side. I did hear there was going to be a strong headwind, but I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
It was the first time that either Solms or Kožíšková had run the dreaded Burma portage and it certainly required a lot of mental strength.
“It was very tough, especially the steep part, because I have short legs and I am small and the boat is quite heavy at the back. But I managed it. It was down to our hard work, experience and preparation that we had such a smooth race,” Solms reckoned. “Nothing went wrong today. It was just a hard day because of the conditions that we were faced with.”
Women’s top 10
1.Abby Solms/Anna Kožíšková (CZE) 2:47.41 9:09.19
2.Tamika Haw/Alex Adie 2:52.25 9:42.22
3.Cana Peek/Kyeta Purchase (U18) 2:55.33 9:43.51
4.Jenna Ward/Vanda Kiszli (HUN) (U23) 3:03.56 9:50.02
5.Kelly Howe/Susan Carter-Brown 3:10.30 10:37.31
6.Jordan Peek/Kim Peek 3:23.40 11:40.05
7.Kerry Segal/Julia Trodd (U23) 3:25.25 11:45.24
8.Debra Lewis/Jessica Dicks 3:19.41 11:53.55
9.Lorna Oliver/Melissa van Rooyen 3:24.37 12:01.02
10.Donna Tutton/Hayley Nixon 3:19.00 12:03.50
