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SA Marathon Championship
The marathon weekend at St. Francis was, as usual, an exciting affair.
Andy Birkett proved once again that the title of World Champion sits easily on his shoulders, when he won the SA K1 Marathon title, the blue ribbon event of the weekend.
Together with the reigning SA Marathon Champion (and World U23 Marathon Champion), Hamish Lovemore, Andy managed to break away from the rest of the field and opened a comfortable gap of three minutes, before the final tussle.
Uli Hart reversed the indignation of being outsprinted by Hank in the short course the day before, when he claimed the bottom step on the podium.
The women's race was a tighter affair with a three-boat end sprint eventually being won by U23 Jade Wilson, from Christie McKenzie and Nix Birkett.
The controversial decision to combine the U23 and the senior races proved to be the correct one, with our U23s proving that they have the ability to mix it with the seniors. It is almost certain that the decision did not affect the outcome.
In the junior category, Zak Jacobs managed to hold off Luke Salmon in the boys race, and Georgia Singe did the same to Holly Smith in the girls.
Both of these pairs then formed combinations for the K2 the following day and achieved podiums. Zac and Luke walking away with gold, while Holly and Georgia were forced to settle for silver after a determined end sprint from Babette van Rooyen and Neriyah Dill.
The senior men's K2 turned into something of a procession, with Hamish Lovemore and Clint Cook making an early break and pulling a massive five minutes on Hank McGregor and Mark Keeling.
The women's K2 was dominated by the KZN pairing of Michelle Burn and Saskia Hockly, with Jade Wilson and Nix Birkett finishing two minutes behind, and Bridgitte Hartley and Pippa McGregor completing the podium, a further five minutes back.
As is always the case, there was much muscle flexing in all of the other junior age groups, as well as the masters classes.
ICF Ocean Racing World Champs Trials
On the Sunday following the marathon championships, many of the same paddlers were obliged to force aching muscles back into action, to compete in the trial to select a national team to take part in the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in Perth in December.
Hank, who had entered all three of the marathon events, showed no side effects of three days of hard racing. He emerged victorious in the trial, ahead of the two U23 paddling sensations, Matt Fenn and Uli Hart.
Kira Bester showed that she has World Championship aspirations by winning the trial outright, as well as the U23 category. There was, however, only a 10-second gap to second-placed Michelle Burn, with another U23, Jade Wilson, rounding off the podium.
All in all, a fantastic weekend of racing in St. Francis. Huge thanks to the organisers and the hospitable locals.
The Teams
I have been chomping at the bit to get this newsletter out ever since the results of the marathon championships and the surfski trial were announced. The selectors have not wanted to rush things, and the withdrawal of Hank threw a cat amongst the pigeons. The marathon and surfski teams have now been announced on social media and you can see them below.
The world marathon championships is only in eight weeks' time. Not a massive amount of time, in the greater scheme of things.
Antje Hockly will be returning as the manager of the marathon team.
SA SURFSKI TEAM 2023
MEN
Hank Mcgregor - Senior
Mark Keeling - Senior
Dawid Mocke - Senior
Joshua Fenn - Senior
Daniel Jacobs - Senior
Matthew Fenn - U23
Ulvard Hart - U23
Cody Stallard - Junior
Heath Clarke - Junior
WOMEN
Michelle Burn - Senior
Melanie Van Niekerk - Senior
Jade Wilson - U23
Kira Bester - U23
Georgia Singe - U18
Babette Van Rooyen - U18
Saskia Hockly - Federation Colours
Holly Smith - Federation Colours
SA MARATHON TEAM 2023
GIRLS U18 - K1
1 Georgia Singe
2 Holly Shirley Smith
GIRLS U18 - K2
1 Babette Van Rooyen/Neriyah Dill
2 Georgia Singe/Holly Shirley Smith
BOYS U18 - K1
1 Zak Jacobs
2 Luke Salmon
BOYS U18 - K2
1 Luke Salmon/Bruno Cochrane
2 Jared Shrimpton/Ryley Michael Smith
WOMEN U23 - K1
1 Jade Wilson
2 Saskia Hockly
MEN U23 - K1
1 Ulvard Hart
2 Matthew Fenn
SHORT COURSE WOMEN - K1
1 Bridgitte Hartley
2 Christie MacKenzie
SHORT COURSE MEN - K1
1 Ulvard Hart
2 Clinton Cook
SENIOR WOMEN - K1
1 Christie MacKenzie
2 Nix Birkett
SENIOR MEN - K1
1 Andy Birkett
2 Hamish Lovemore
SENIOR WOMEN - K2
1 Saskia Hockly/Michelle Burn
2 Jade Wilson/Nix Birkett
SENIOR MEN - K2
1 Hamish Lovemore/Clinton Cook
2 Wayne Jacobs/Bradley Buolle
Bay Union King of the Bay
One of the classic ski races of the year took place last Sunday, and an even more classic one will be taking place this weekend.
The Bay Union King of the Bay race is one of the few occasions where paddlers get the opportunity to paddle out of the harbour mouth in Durban. Neels and his team put on a great show, with Hamish Lovemore showing that he is as comfortable in a ski, as he is in a K1. Saskia Hockly showied a return to form by beating her training partner, Michelle Burn, by a whisker.
This coming weekend is the Scottburgh to Brighton. The second oldest ski race in the world (being eclipsed, by a single year, by the Pirates/Umhlanga). Conditions are lining up for an honest paddle, with very little wind or sea assistance. This year, for the first time in the history of the race, the organisers are dispensing with the halfway stop at Amanzimtoti.
Berg River Marathon
In the fairest cape, the weather gods have bared their fangs. The Berg River marathon, which is also doubling as the SA K1 river championships, is due to start midway through next week.
The Western Cape has had almost double its annual rainfall over the past few months and the Berg River has burst its banks.
There have been some voices expressing concern over safety issues, with fast flowing water through trees. However, the race has been held in previous years at a very high level.
Fortunately, there is not much rain predicted for the period before the start, so there is a good chance the river would have subsided to a more manageable level by then.
One thing is for certain, if the river maintains its current levels, there are going to be some very fast times. If these levels had been predicted, there may well have been more than a handful of paddlers who would have done some last minute training and tossed an entry in.
Mark Keeling won the final pre Berg race from Gouda to Bridgetown over the weekend, with Dyllan Farrell and Dom Notten in close attendance.
Ansune Basson getting the better of Biance Beavett in the women's race.
I will wait until next week, when I can get my hands on a final start list for the Berg, before I make any rash predictions.
African Beach Games
The African Beach Games kick off in Tunisia tomorrow, when our ocean racing team of Nosipho Mthembu and Kwanda Mzolo take on the rest of the continent.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time
Your SG
Copper
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