Salt Rock’s Hank McGregor wins fourth consecutive SA surfski title
The victory earned him a spot in the South African team for the World Championships in Portugal later this year.
Salt Rock’s Hank McGregor (44) continues to defy the ageing process as he won his 4th consecutive national surfski title last weekend.
This adds to what must be an increasingly difficult to store medal and trophy haul for the multiple national and world champion.
On Sunday, a packed field of the country’s best surfski paddlers descended on Seaforth Beach in Cape Town for a 23km face-off.
The event decided places in the South African team which will compete in the world championships in Portugal later this year, thus bringing out the best of the competitors.
“There was a two-day window period for the race as organisers waited for the best conditions in which to paddle. We eventually took off at 2pm on Sunday in beautiful conditions,” said McGregor.
Photo: Barbra Cole/Cape Town Surfski.
Heading south towards Partridge Point for the first 8km, the field initially faced a strong headwind which isolated the elite group at the front.
“So many good guys are coming through now, that it is really difficult to separate the top section. At the Partridge Point turn, I was third in a group of about six guys,” he said.
After making the turn, McGregor made his move, with Cape Town’s north-wester propelling him towards the finish line at Fish Hoek’s main beach.
“I put my head down and got some clearance from the pack, but I could tell that I was going to get shadow boxed from behind for the whole race. In foreign conditions, you never really know what pace to set, but I drew on my experience and carried on pushing.”
Once the last 1.5km arrived, McGregor put on the afterburners and won a reasonably comfortable victory in a time of 1 hour 28 minutes and 28 seconds, with Ken Rice finishing more than 20 seconds behind.
Photo: Barbra Cole/Cape Town Surfski.
McGregor was particularly happy to have beaten out Nick Notten, the reigning world champion who finished third at his home break.
“Now that selection is sorted, I am turning my focus to the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in September.”
Perhaps another gold is beckoning for one of South Africa’s most decorated athletes.
Cape Town’s Melanie van Niekerk took the women’s race in a time of 1 hour 40 minutes and 50 seconds.
