A 19-year-old Fourways paddler said he can’t wait for the next Dusi Canoe Marathon following his great performance in this year’s competition.

Dylan Browne participated in this year’s 120km-long paddling competition from Pietermaritzburg to Durban for the first time this year.

“I started paddling when I was only eight years old,” he said. “My dad introduced me to the sport and after 11 years he is still my training partner. Right from when I started paddling I’ve had a love and extreme passion for the sport, which exponentiates every time I go for a paddle or do a race.” Browne continued, “This was my first Dusi in a K1, and I am currently racing in the U23 age group having just come out of the U18 age group. I took the 27th spot of my age group and 123rd overall.” Browne said he started training for this year’s Dusi competition after the Vaal River Canoe Marathon in December last year.

“I had only three months to train for the big event in mid-March this year.

Training under Covid-19 restrictions was hard especially during the second wave of the pandemic as we were not able to paddle for a number of weeks.” He added, “I used this time to focus on gym work at home and concentrated more on my running preparations for the Dusi.”

Browne explained that the competition taught him that countless hours of preparation, both on and off the water pay off. “There was good water in the river in all three days and I managed to have the race I hoped for.” Browne concluded, “There is no denying that the race was extremely gruelling but I think my hard training paid off.”