ROODEPLAAT DAM, Pretoria – South Africa’s elite paddlers compete for arguably the most competitive championship title in the country this weekend when the SA Marathon Championships take place at Roodeplaat Dam just outside Pretoria from Friday to Sunday.
The who’s who of South African paddling will compete in the three-day flat-water event, which will see paddlers across all age groups competing for national titles, mostly in short-course K1 (singles) events on Friday, K1 long-course races on Saturday, and K2 (doubles) long-course races on Sunday.
To add some extra spice to the weekend action, the champs double as the national team selection event for the World Championships taking place in Metkovic in Croatia in September.
The entry list is packed with World Champions, starting with the world’s most decorated kayak paddler, 46-year-old veteran Hank McGregor, down to 18-year-old reigning Junior World Champions, Georgia Singe and Holly Smith.
McGregor, who has seven K1 and four K2 World Championship titles to his name, has not entered any of the K1 events and will be chasing gold only in the doubles races with young Uli Hart, the 2019 Junior Surfski World Champion and a two-time U23 World Marathon bronze medallist.
The Team Euro Steel combination is a classic age and youth combination and while they are one of the favourites for K2 victory – and Hart is sure to also be in the mix in the two K1 events – they are not the only top combination to blend the extremes of experience.
Their teammate, Andy Birkett, has eight Marathon World Championship medals – four gold, three silver and three bronze – and has led the South African challenge at the showpiece international event in recent years. He will be teaming up with 2022 U23 World Champion Hamish Lovemore and they are probably the marginal favourites for the K2 title.
The pair recently won the SA 500m K2 sprint championships to claim South Africa’s place at the Olympics, so there is no doubting their credentials when it comes to the finish sprint. Like Hart, Lovemore will be tackling all three championship races this weekend, while Birket has limited himself to the two long-course events.
Other male paddlers to watch across the events include Nic Notten, Matt and Joshua Fenn, Thomas Lovemore, Jeremy Maher, Clint Cook and Mark Keeling.
In the women’s races, a four-way battle looks likely in the K2 race, with Jade Wilson and Nix Birkett; Jenna Nisbet and Bridgitte Hartley; Pippa Mcgregor and Kira Bester; and reigning river marathon champions, Team Euro Steel’s Saskia Hockly and Christie Mackenzie the most likely protagonists.
These eight paddlers are mostly the big names in the short- and long-course K1 races and expect the winners of all three races to come from that list.
In the junior events, Singe and Smith are overwhelming favourites in the women’s race and will be hoping to claim the win and earn selection to Croatia to have the opportunity to defend their world title in September.
Racing starts at 8.30am on Friday and 8am over the weekend. Race distances vary from two kilometres for U8 guppy races up to just under 30km for senior championship events.