WHILE there were roses handed out to all the mothers before the start of race four of the Bay Union Dairy Challenge, there was no love lost on the water, as lifesaving ‘Iron Man’, Wade Krieger, showed that he is hitting top form by winning his first title in the popular surfski series.

Series leader, Hank McGregor, was away in Germany to receive his World Paddle Award for the Sportsman of the Year, and Krieger was eager to take full advantage of the opportunities and was quickly drawn into a ferocious tussle with Steve Woods and Barry Lewin.

“Since lifesaving champs I have been able to back off on my swimming, and as a result I feel a lot stronger,” said Krieger.

“I have had time to do more gym and the whole way during the race I felt like I was connecting right. For the first time in about a year I can say that things are definitely coming together,” he added.

Meanwhile, the women’s race produced the closest finish of the series to date, with four paddlers racing on the same wave into the finish together.

Mt Edgecombe’s Jenna Ward was the quickest upon the short stretch of beach to take the title by the slimmest of margins from Hayley Arthur.

“Everyone was pulling, trying to get away, and the speed was up the whole time,” said a visibly-elated Ward, who is part of the province’s Elite Athlete Development Programme training at Prime HPI.

“It is so exciting that the girls’ racing is this close. It shows that our training is paying off and we are right up there with the guys. The class that we are racing against in these races is just incredible. It’s like having a world champs every weekend here in Durban,” she said.

Related Articles 

Hank clinches second victory (Race 3)

Rice cruises to victory (Race 2)

McGregor kickstarts winter surfski season (Race 1)