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For the vast majority of us mortals, competing in a marathon, where one remains predominantly in the red zone for the duration, is a death knell for any vigorous activity for a number of weeks.
Racing back-to-back marathon events, against the best in the world, and coming second in an end sprint in both is an accomplishment that is almost unimaginable.
To then climb into a plane and fly halfway around the world, in order to compete in a World Sprint Championships a few days later, is borderline bizarre.
Hamish Lovemore raced in his 1000m K1 heat yesterday, comfortably going through to the semi finals at the ICF Sprint World Championships in Milan, Italy, in a time of just over three and a half minutes. This, after being narrowly out-sprinted by the Dane Mads Pedersen in both the short course and the long course of the marathon event at the World Games, held in Chengdu, China, the weekend before last.
Hamish was joined in China by Saskia Hockly, as the male and female members of the SA canoeing team, sent over by SASCOC.
They both raced the short course and the long course on consecutive days.
Saskia had some admin in both of her races and did not get the results she was hoping for.
Hamish brought home two of the three medals that were won by the entire SA team from all the sports represented.
Those who watched the live-streaming of the racing will bear testament to the fact that it was intense and exciting, with an absurdly high standard.
Pedersen appears to be in a class of his own at the moment, as is Melina Andersson, who comfortably won both the women’s events.
Time will tell if they manage to carry their form through to the World Marathon Championships, to be held in Gyor, Hungary, just two weeks from today. Hamish will have another crack at the Dane in his 5 000m event at the sprints on Sunday, and then again in both K1 events in Gyor.
Back to Milan and the Senior World Sprint Championships.
SA has sent a very small team of three sprinters with Esti Olivier and Henry Van der Walt joining Hamish for two events each.
As of today, all three had qualified for at least one semi-final, with Esti going through in both the 200m and 500m and Hamish also in action in the 5 000m final on Sunday.
Keep abreast of the action on the PSA social media, or via the official results page (or easier maybe to go to Entries, filter by nation – South Africa – and click on one of the three names to see their results and upcoming events).
The SA marathon team members will start leaving our shores, in dribs and drabs, over the next week or so, heading for Gyor in Hungary, for the ICF World Marathon Championships.
Our 23 national team members will be joined by a host of masters paddlers who will kick off the action on Monday the 1st of September, with the K1 races, followed by K2 on the 2nd.
The juniors, U23’s and seniors start their action on Thursday the 4th, with the event coming to an end on Sunday the 7th.
Live-streaming will be available through the ICF paid channel. You will need to pay around R200 for the month (don’t forget to cancel it). Far more hours of entertainment than a couple of movies for the same price.
As usual, SA has a potent marathon team, with Uli Hart and Hamish chasing medals in the men’s K1 short course. Hamish will be joined by previous world champion Andy Birkett in the K1 long course.
Our hopes in the women’s K1 and K2 races will rest on the able shoulders of Jade Wilson, Saskia Hockly, Nix Birkett, Jenna Nisbet and Pippa McGregor.
The men’s K2 combinations of Hank McGregor/Uli Hart and Clint Cook/Nic Notten have years of experience and will be hoping to utilise it in what always turns into a proper scrap.
Added to the mix are a host of juniors and U23’s who will, no doubt, add to the medal haul.
More World Champs info and documents here.
Unfortunately, the marathon team in Hungary will miss out on the Breede Canoe Marathon, which takes place over the same weekend.
One of the final races of the Cape winter, the Breede almost always delivers the goods, on and off the water.
It is probably the most iconic K2 race in the country. The river is an absolute pleasure and the festive atmosphere that surrounds the race always leads to a hugely pleasant weekend away.
This year, the organisers have secured a sponsorship from AJM specialist tax and transaction advisors, so there will more than likely be more than pride to race for.
Looking ahead, to the end of the year, a message from the Cape Point Challenge Organisers: “I wanted to let you know that we’ve officially added CPC Lite to this year’s Cape Point Challenge. For a number of years, we’ve had requests to host a shorter course – giving paddlers, who are either preparing to take on the full CPC in future, or who don’t want to tackle the full distance, the chance to be part of the great CPC gees. The CPC Lite race course will be approximately 20km, with the exact route being decided closer to race day. What we can confirm is that the race will depart from and return to Fish Hoek Beach Sports Club. To make it special, the first 80 CPC Lite entries will each receive a CPC Lite paddle shirt, and they’ll also enjoy the prize-giving lunch and all the trimmings that make the day so memorable”.
This announcement joins the one from the PE to East London organisers who have also reintroduced a less arduous option in the form of a relay race. Various permutations will allow those, who are not up to the full distance, to still be part of the event and to experience the wonderful coastline and the spirit of the toughest paddling race on the planet. |
