South Africa named a strong team including reigning world champions when they announced their list for the 2014 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships on Wednesday.
The event is set to take place in Oklahoma City on in the United States from 23 to 28 September.
Hank McGregor, who recently won the South African Canoe Marathon K1 title before clinching the K2 event with partner Jasper Mocké, is one of the notable competitors who will be looking to fly the South African flag.
Reigning under-23 K1 world champion Andy Birkett missed out on a K1 selection but he and partner Greg Louw have been selected for the K2 due to Grant van Der Walt being unavailable for the Tour.
“Grant has been studying recently and so he hasn’t been focusing on his paddling, which meant that he made himself unavailable for selection,” Brett Austen Smith, the Chairman of the South African Canoe Marathon Committee, said.
“That ultimately meant that we could include Andy (Birkett) and Greg (Louw) in the side to go to Oklahoma.
“This really highlights the depth in the senior men’s canoe marathon discipline. With a world champion unable to make the men’s K1 team – that just shows the strength that we possess.”
SA WORLD CANOE MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Senior Men
Hank McGregor (K1, K2), Jasper Mocké (K1, K2), Andrew Birkett (K2), Greg Louw (K2)
Senior Women
Bridgitte Hartley (K1), Nikki Russel (K1), Abby Adie (K2), Laura O’Donoghue (K2), Jenna Ward (K2), Hayley Arthur (K2) Nikki Russel
Under-23 Men
Brandon van der Walt (K1), Stuart Maclaren (K1)
Under-23 Women
Jenna Ward (K1), Brittany Petersen (K1)
Junior Boys
Bryan Leroux (K1, K2), Louis Hattingh (K1, K2), Jean van der Westhuizen (K2), Stuart Bristow (K2)
Junior Girls
Julia Trodd (K1), Martine Beukes (K1)
Masters Team
Marion Young (K1, K2), Gustav Smook (K1, K2), Gustav Radloff (K1, K2), Katarzyna Lapacz (K1), Hilde Lapere (K1), Lee McGregor (K1, K2), Alan Hold (K1, K2), Chris van den Berg (K1), John Evans (K1, K2) Len Jenkins Snr (K1), Nigel Briggs (K2), Cathy Doherty-Bigara (K2), Linton Hope (K1)
