Umdloti paddler Hamish Lovemore continued his impressive international season by streaking to silver at the ICF Sprint World Championships last weekend.

Racing in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, Lovemore faced off against 29 paddlers in the K1 men’s 5 000m A final. He fought hard against eventual gold medallist Mads Pedersen throughout the five-lap course, but the Dane proved too strong, finishing in 20:53.89 – just under 20 seconds ahead. Lovemore’s time of 21:13.36 secured a comfortable silver, with Hungary’s Adam Varga taking bronze.

His silver medal was the first won by a South African at the Sprint World Championships and the first medal of any colour since Bridgitte Hartley’s bronze in 2018.

Lovemore was also in action earlier in the week in Milan, racing in the K1 men’s 1 000m event, where he qualified for the B final on Saturday. He grabbed another second place, just behind Germany’s Jakob Thordsen.

“I am super happy with that K1 1 000 B final finish. I had two tough races leading up to it and it just felt like everything went perfectly,” said Lovemore.

Lovemore has enjoyed a fantastic season in major international events, adding three more silvers to his Sprint World Championships medal.

The first came at the Sprint World Cup in Szeged, Hungary, in May, before he picked up two more at the World Games in Chengdu, China, earlier this month. Pedersen edged him out in both the short and long course events in Chengdu, underlining both athletes’ prowess over varying distances and their dominance throughout the year.

Lovemore will have another opportunity to go one better and claim gold when he returns to Hungary for the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor from September 4-7.

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