Rowing for the world championship
The ICF World Marathon championships will take place in September in Pietermaritzburg
WITH the World International Canoe Federation ( ICF) Marathon Championships being hosted in South Africa this year, there is a huge focus on marathon racing.
It consists of a long distance (22km) race, including short 100m portages after each lap where the paddlers display their smooth take out of the water, a quick short run with the boat and an agile put back into the water.
A slip or dropped boat can lose time at these major prestigious events. The take out and put in are among the more difficult abilities to master while speed on both the water and running on land also require good training and practice.
Malcolm Stothard from Edenvale and Pieter Engelbrecht from Kempton Park participated in the K1 (single kayak) on July 22 as well as the K2 (double kayak) trials on July 23 during the Gauteng Marathon Championships hosted by their club, Ekurhuleni Kayak Club at Homestead Dam in Benoni.
They finished the K2 event in one hour 42 minutes on Sunday. In the K1 event, Stothard was the winner of the master men’s age category, finishing in one hour 33 minutes.
Engelbrecht finished fourth in the sub master men’s age category in one hour 48 minutes.
They have both been selected in their K1 and K2 races to represent Gauteng at the upcoming SA Marathons in August where they hope to be selected to represent SA at the world championship event.
The ICF World Marathon Championships will take place in September in Pietermaritzburg.
