One of South Africa’s most challenging sporting events, the Berg Rivier canoe marathon, recently took place again in the cold winter weather of the Western Cape.
Paddlers participating in this marathon are used to bitterly cold and uncomfortable weather conditions, where temperatures can be freezing as they race the 240km event from from Paarl to the small harbour of Velddrif on the West Coast.
It is believed that the idea for this marathon initially originated in 1952, when three adventurers from Paarl, Bennie le Roux, Apie le Roux and Sam du Toit, set off in an outboard-motor-driven boat and they took four full days to reach the West coast fishing town of Velddrif. Afterwards, this river route became a popular challenge for adventurers in boats, until rowers later decided to do the same, but without the help of any engines or external help..
The official Berg River Canoe Marathon was founded in 1962 by a group of 35 pioneers who set off on a flooded Berg River from Paarl for the first edition of this four-day race. Fuelled by enthusiastic support from the local news media, the four-stage odyssey caught the attention of the South African public, as only 19 paddlers made it to the finish.
Photo: Supplied
This year’s Berg River marathon was won by Tom Lovemore from Knysna.
However, there was also success for local paddlers from Pretoria. The best performance by a local competitor came from Elton Du Preez from Centurion Canoe Club, who took on this challenging race in his first attempt ever. He finished as first Sub Master in a time of 18 hours and 25 minutes.
“I’m done Paddling! It is crazy,” was Du Preez’s first reaction after finishing the race. However, his friends and fellow members at the club did not take him seriously. They know that he will be back on the water after a good rest and after his body recovered from the challenge.
Rheul Lombard from Centurion also started the race, but she was one of the paddlers who was unable to finish.
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