Local paddler achieves second place in rowing championship
One of the essential aspects of marathon racing is the ability to master a smooth portage.
Pieter Engelbrecht from Kempton Park achieved a second place in the masters age category (50 years +) at the Gauteng Canoe Union Marathon Championships.
He finished the 23km race with five portages in one hour 17 minutes.
Engelbrecht has been a very active and competitive paddler the past few years and is a member of Ekurhuleni Kayak Club based at Homestead Dam in Benoni.
The championships took place on June 1 and 2 at Cradlemoon Lakeside Resort. Rowers from u-8 through to 80 years participated at the event which attracted paddlers from other provinces to try out the venue in preparation for the upcoming South African Marathon Championships on June 15, 16, 17.
One of the essential aspects of marathon racing is the ability to master a smooth portage where the paddlers from u-14 upwards take their boat out of the water, run a short distance carrying it, and then put it back smoothly into the water, climb in without falling in, slipping, or dropping the wet smooth boat
It is quite a crucial skill where paddlers can lose time, or make up time depending on their efficiency.
