Hank McGregor (RSA) in the K1 Men Senior Race in Metkovic, Croatia.
Metkovic (Croatia) – Saturday was a day of frustration for Team South Africa at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic, Croatia, as they failed to add any medals to their tally of four silvers won over the opening two days.
Late on Friday evening South African Surfski Champion Uli Hart added a fourth silver medal to the three won by Hamish Lovemore (short course), Georgia Singe (junior K1) and Singe and Holly Smith (junior K2), but Saturday’s penultimate day of action saw both senior women withdrawing from their event, then young Keegan Vogt ended fourth in the junior men’s K1 after he looked to have secured a medal, and finally the men’s main medal hope, Andy Birkett, sank.
In the final race of the day, Birkett’s hopes literally sank when his boat was swamped by some big waves on the first lap and he had to be rescued by the support boat, and then Hank McGregor could not hold the chasing group as Mads Pedersen from Denmark dominated the senior men’s race.
The day started with big hopes for last year’s bronze medallist Christie Mackenzie and Nicole Birkett in the women’s K1 event, but Birkett had a mechanical issue and was forced out, and then Mackenzie was unwell and also did not complete the race.
Next up was young 15-year-old Keegan Vogt in the U18 event. He punched way above his age when he made what looked to be the decisive break with Spaniard Victor Devesa on the penultimate portage. It looked a formality for the Maritzburg College pupil to secure at least a silver, however, the youngster could not hang on and he dropped away and was passed by the chasing group to eventually finish fourth.
While the result will be hugely disappointing, it arguably rates as one of the performances of the regatta from the South Africans as he still has two more years to race in the junior category.
In the U23 race on Friday evening, Hart and Matthew Fenn aggressively forced themselves into contention early in the lead group. Fenn was strong on the portages and forceful throughout, while Hart struggled on the early portages and had to work hard to get back onto the group three times.
The eventual winner, Philip Knudsen from Denmark, made the key break on the penultimate portage and a lap later Hart was left to battle Hungarian Zalan Peli and Portugal’s Francisco Santos for the remaining two medals. The South African, despite having to work so hard to claw his way back into contention in the early part of the race, was able to come around his rivals in the final sprint and claim the silver.
The final day of action will see three key K2 races, with Andy Birkett and Hamish Lovemore hoping to use the speed they built preparing for the Olympics to claim a medal, while with the experienced Hank McGregor and Hart make a South African medal a good bet in the men’s race.
In the women’s race, both the Christie Mackenzie and Saskia Hockly crew, and the second South African boat of Jade Wilson and Nicole Birkett, will want to rescue what has been a massively frustrating regatta for the U23 and senior female paddlers.
Much is also expected from top junior crew of Ryley Smith and Jared Shrimpton and there is a hope they can grab a medal, while the second crew of Theo Dreyer and Tyde Malherbe have produced some great results in local events recently.
Sunday’s action is the final day of the World Championships.