Top paddlers shine at East Rand Kayak Club’s night race
Competitive paddlers from across Gauteng descended on Homestead Dam for the East Rand Kayak Club’s night race, featuring a demanding 14km senior course.
The East Rand Kayak Club (ERK), based at Homestead Dam in Benoni, hosted an exciting Saturday night race on November 15, drawing competitive paddlers from across the region.
Seniors took on a challenging 14km course consisting of seven 2km laps, with no portages required. Paddlers from the Victoria Lake Canoe Club participated in the race and delivered strong performances.
The pairing of Kyle Hay (Lowveld) and Loveday Zondi (Germiston) finished as the fifth K2 in 1 hour 10 minutes, followed closely by Richard Cele and Nick Bradley, who placed sixth overall and second in their age category in 1 hour 12 minutes.
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In the mixed doubles division, Anton and Shelley Nel completed the course in 1 hour 21 minutes, while Uwe Schmidthaus finished the K1 race in 1 hour 26 minutes.
ERK paddlers dominated the main event, with Michael Stewart and Dawid Gerber winning the senior 14km race in an impressive 1 hour 4 minutes, claiming top honours in the 35–39 age category.
The junior paddlers took on a 4km course, consisting of two laps. Ruoxi Hao of Dabulamanzi Canoe Club claimed victory in 23:28, ahead of Luminathi Mnyande (Soweto) in 26:51. Amile Mzolo secured third place and was the first female junior, finishing in 27:14.
