A FIFTH in 2017 and a fourth in 2018 shows that young Christie Mackenzie is moving in the right direction at the N3TC Drak Challenge in partnership with FNB, and 2019 could see her push for much higher honours in the two-day race from 19 to 20 January.
Mackenzie missed out on third in an end sprint with the experienced Robyn Owen at the 2018 edition of the race but has improved markedly since that performance with a second in a K2 at the FNB Dusi and also a third at the Hansa Fish, which was the SA K1 championships.
What seems to become a common narrative among the top athletes heading into the busy summer river season is that they haven’t trained enough and before the Christmas break Mackenzie felt she was in that bracket too.
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“I only managed to start my training properly after my exams and that was towards the end of the year. I spent a lot of time running and in the gym but wasn’t able to get into the boat as much as I would have liked. I have some time to prepare for the Drak and the Dusi in KZN, which I am really looking forward to,” he said.
Mackenzie’s focus for the 2019 summer will be on trying to win a maiden FNB Dusi title, however he stresses the importance of a good N3TC Drak Challenge result as part of her preparation.
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