Local canoeists among the best
The 12th edition of the Ithala Canoe Challenge that was held in KwaZulu-Natal, saw a few local riders determined to beat the sweeps.
The very first race was won by the late Paul Hay and Grant Morzet. The Lowveld Canoe Club’s, Gerhard Steyn and Wihan Venter started in the A-batch and were among the best of the best.
Eric Dixon was in F-batch, and Dewiko Loots in C and somewhat later it was André van der Merwe, Clive Brown and Mike Adams.
This race was almost cancelled because of lack of sponsorship. Several companies then came on board with smaller sponsorships and several paddlers contributed money to the race. This race is much like the Sasol Croc Canoe Challenge.
Results
• Gerhard Steym – sixth overall and first in the K1 in a time of 03:41
• Wihan Venter – 15th overall and sixth in the K1 in just over four hours
• Eric Dixon – 28th overall and 14th in K1 in a time of 04:13
• Dewiko Loots – overall in the 50’s with a time of 04:30
• Clive Smart and Mike Adams – in the 50’s.
The next event on the calendar is the 50 Miler Canoe Marathon and a seeding race for the Dusi in February.
The Fast Drak on the Umzimkulu river is at the end of December and also the last race of the year.
