Singles records tumble at 2015 Non-Stop Dusi win
The K1 record was broken by women's Non-Stop Dusi winner, Lara O'Donoghue on Friday.
RELATIVELY unknown Nhlanhla Cele claimed a hard-fought victory with veteran Thulani Mbanjwa, while Lara O’Donoghue took the women’s title, breaking the K1 record, at the Non-Stop Dusi on Friday.
Build it/Williams Hunt’s Mbanjwa won the 2014 Vaal in Gauteng but the last time he stood on the top step of the podium in an event in his home province was back in 2011 when he and Sbonelo Khwela won the ‘Dusi-in-a-day’.
Despite his lack of local wins, Mbanjwa remained hugely positive throughout his dry spell before enjoying one of his best Dusi build-up campaigns ahead of February’s three day tussle where he finished fourth.
“It is so sweet to win a big race again. I have always been there and thereabouts without being able to just get over the line and win but I worked so hard before Dusi and felt really fit a week before Non-Stop so I gave Nhlanhla a call and I’m so glad I did! Nhlanhla was so strong the whole way and I’m so happy for him too, he really deserves this result!” said Mbanjwa.
The result was a career highlight for 27-year-old Cele whose previously best performance was a Non-Stop third place with his brother Richard back in 2011. However, his first Non-Stop win came in a dominant display as they led from start to finish.
Some hair-raising moments and the expected phases of physical and mental fatigue along the way saw a cat and mouse affair unfold behind them as Euro Steel/Red Bull’s Khwela and Euro Steel’s Lance Kime closed the gap and dropped off the pace throughout.
After Kime ‘hit the wall’ halfway across Inanda Dam it was a two horse race and Khwela ran the Burma Road portage like a man possessed, narrowing the gap to just half a minute in the dying stages.
In the end it was Mbanjwa and Cele who were just too strong for Khwela’s charging K1 as they floated into Blue Lagoon in Durban after 7:44.44.
Kime claimed the final step on the podium in his final outing before he jets off to spend some time working and travelling abroad before 2015 Dusi gold medalists Mhlonishwa Hlongwane and Banesti Nkhoesa edged out the pair of Nhlanhla Cele’s brother and Change a Life team mate Richard and Natal Canoe Club Development programme product Mfaniseni Nyawose for fourth.
The day belonged to Laura O’Donoghue, however, as she added a new women’s K1 Non-Stop record to her maiden Dusi title she claimed two weeks ago.
With a maiden Dusi title under her belt after her resounding effort at the three day clash two weeks ago, she returned to absolutely annihilate the previous women’s K1 record set by Robyn Kime in 2012 by well over ten minutes on Friday.
“It was a pretty flawless day out there. I felt strong thoughout the day and I enjoyed it out there although from halfway I was on my own which was quite eerie! I was always going to go around Burma today and it all went well, I am just really happy to be home!” she said.
First placed mixed doubles crew Ben Bradford and Natasha Bulbring dug deep in an attempt to finish inside the race’s top 10 however the pair fell just short after they wrapped their boat at Tops Needle but still ended as the first mixed doubles crew.
