Upstream towards a great 2023
Local paddler Clinton Cook shares on some of his success of the year and what he looks forward to this year.
Into the raging water we go with paddler Clinton Cook.
Now in his 30s, Cook has been a canoeist since he was about eight years old.
As an energetic boy growing up, Cook said, “I was partaking in school sports and then going to Dabulamanzi Canoe Club for canoeing afterwards.”
The paddler who has made the Emmarentia-based canoe club a second home sees its members as an extension of his family as they are always willing to help one another and has a great sense of community.
Two of Cook’s biggest successes of the year were winning his first South African Marathon Championships title, on his birthday no less. The other success was finishing second in the Fish River Canoe Marathon held in October.
Following the long-lasting side effects of Covid-19, Cook believed these successes had boosted his self-worth. “It was a difficult year for me but I have since recovered and feel back to my old self.”
In the coming year, he wants to keep pushing himself and hopefully make the SA team that will compete in Denmark.
“Definitely looking forward to sprinting again in 2023 and then SA Marathon Championships in June which is over my birthday again.”
