Paddlers from the Victoria Lake Canoe Club showed what they were made of, at the recent Vaal River SA K2 Championships.
With attractive prize money and excellent sponsorships from CMH Vaal East Rand, local paddlers vied for the championship titles in their age groups.
Although the race was a K2 championship, the top K1 winner is also recognised.
Victoria Lake Club’s u-23 competitor, Brighton Clark, was the winner of the singles race, finishing in 45th position overall, in a time of 5:25.
The Smith cousins, Gregory and Roland, led the club’s charge, finishing in 13th place overall in a time of 4:51, closely followed by club member Thomas Ngidi and his Natal-based partner, to finish 30 seconds later.
Collen Gibbs and Bernhard Kloss were the 48th finishers, in 5:29, while Josh Loots and Richard Cele (the club coach) were 62nd.
They were followed by the third mixed podium achievers, u-23s Katiso Hlahatsi and Karima Hare.
Grant Conlon and Timothy Baker were 68th, and Brian Langton and Simon Treston were 71st.
Bobby Damalis and Lee-Ann Hendry were the ninth mixed double finishers.
The 80km race started on November 2, below the Vaal Dam Wall, with day two, on November 3, beginning below the Vaal River barrage to end upriver from Parys, at Smiling Thru holiday resort.
Hank McGregor, the World Marathon Champion of 2013, and his partner, Jasper Mocke, took the gold.
McGregor has achieved every canoeing title in South Africa for marathons, sprints and surfski.
He and Mocke, who have never raced together before, broke away from the front bunch after the Benoude Boude rapid, on the final stage, to clinch the title.
In the women’s race, South Africa’s top female river racer, Abby Adie, partnered with Edenglen-based top female paddler Donna Tutton, to edge out the pre-race favourites, Hilary Bruss and Olympic medallist Bridgitte Hartley, who had taken a swim at the first rapid, shortly after the start of the first stage, to clinch the national women’s K2 crown.
