COLIN Simpkins made history recently at the N3TC Drak Challenge by topping the Super Trout club with 27 races under his belt.

The Durban North resident now holds the record for the most Drak finishes and leads Pietermaritzburg paddling icon Owen Hemmingway, who had topped the list for much of the two-day race’s history.

Colin, a legend in the sport of paddling, is known by his friends as ‘Copper’ due to his red hair and has completed 33 Fish River Canoe Marathons and 36 Umkomaas Canoe River Marathon 36 races.

The 64-year-old, who finished in 99th position at this year’s race, said while it is special to hold the milestone, his goal was never to top the list of most finishes.

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“I’m not one for good attendance prizes. I would rather look back and say I’ve got three second places at the Drak Challenge. I’ve competed in every race since its inception, and I have always been competitive. While it is special to have this milestone, it certainly wasn’t my aim to top the most finishes list,” he said.

He added the Drak Challenge is one of his favourite paddling races due to a variety of factors.

“The race is exciting and quite technical. For me, one of the major attractions is how clean the water is and the beautiful scenery, and the organisers are such nice people. It is a pleasure to race in the uMzimkhulu River. The race always attracts the best paddlers in the country, and to do well at the Drak, you have to be on top of your game. We also have a nine-hole golf tournament that gets quite competitive which I’ve run for the last 15 to 20 years at the Underberg Country Club,” he said.

Colin added it was also a special feeling to share the sport with his son, Josh, who also paddled in this year’s race.

“Josh finished in 43rd position, and while I’ve never forced him to be a paddler, but it is lovely to have him in the sport and share in it with him,” he said.

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