WITH the Dusi canoe marathon scheduled for mid-February, Gauteng canoeists are training hard to reach their peak before the end of January.
The Eurosteel Rumble, a two-day race of some 36 and 24km per day on Saturday and Sunday January 11 and 12, not only provided excellent prize money and sponsorships, attracting top potential winning paddlers from Gauteng, but also provided superb toughening conditions for their Dusi training.
Dusi gold medal hopefuls arrived in Gauteng to claim the excellent prize money, including the 2013 winner Lance Kime who partnered with the legendary Thulani Mbanjwa, while Kime’s previous partner Kwanda Mhlophe won the day with partner Zonele Nzuza. All eyes will be on these partnerships at the major canoeing event next month. Gauteng top paddlers enjoyed the opportunity to race against and in the wake of these awesome athletes who cruised comfortably through the tough event.
The weekend saw blistering hot weather in the northern Gauteng region where paddlers converged on the Jukskei River, to paddle from the Heron Bridge school towards Hartebeespoort Dam, with very low water levels and tough steep running sections where canoeists carried their boats, preparing for the world’s toughest canoe endurance event.
James Tutton is a member of the East Rand Kayak club based at Homestead Dam in Benoni, while Gavin Steyl is from the South, Alberton, where he is a key member of the Johannesburg Canoe Club based at Wemmer Pan, as well as Chairman. He heads up the environmentalist program.
The pair partnered up to win the Sub Master age category in a time of 5:19 as the 13th double to finish the challenging race and they are looking forward to a successful Dusi event.
