Not even a major injury in the genital region could keep Shaun Maphanga away from canoeing.
Shaun,who suffered the injury in 2011 while participating in the Dusi Marathon had to use a catheter for a year before undergoing surgery.
“One of the canoe boats went straight through my legs. I didn’t realize that I’d hurt myself until after the end of day 1 of the race. We thought it was a slight bruise until I couldn’t urinate. That’s when we realized something was wrong,” he said.
Shaun started canoeing in 2006 after being employed as a grounds and club manager at the Florida Lake Canoe Club.
“I couldn’t swim and I was afraid of drowning but Jennie Dallas from the Gauteng Canoe Union took me to swimming classes,” he said.
After learning how to swim, Shaun felt more confident in the water and started learning how to paddle. As his confidence grew, he fell in love with canoeing.
“I tried canoeing for two months and realized I could do it. I started enjoying the sport and putting more effort in what I was doing,” said Shaun.
He then started participating in beginner races to slowly introduce himself to competitive racing.
His first race was the Fish Canoe Race in the Eastern Cape.
“Participating in these races gave me an understanding of what canoeing is all about and to experience the big races was helpful to me,” said Shaun.
“I grew up in the rural parts of northern KwaZulu-Natal where exposure to the sport is minial if not zero. My family had no idea what canoeing was and I first had to explain to them what a canoe is. They thought of boats and ships,” he said.
After his injury in 2011, Shaun took a year off from the sport and thought he would never paddle again.
“I thought I would just sit be a club manager but the sport is addictive. The following year, I started doing it for fun. From there I found myself participating in small races but by 2013, I had already forgotten that I had an injury and returned with an more fiery passion,” he said.
This year was an extraordinary year for Shaun who was chosen to be the face of Dusi Canoe Marathon 2015.
In the race, he came home with a silver medal when he finished as the third Sub Veteran podium position holder, came in the top 50 overall in position 37, and as the 35th K1.
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