IN his first race of the international calendar uMdloti resident Hamish Lovemore showed why he is one of the rising stars in the sport of canoe sprint.

He won silver in the men’s K1 1000m final at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged, Hungary recently.

Lovemore also competed in the K1 5 000m race where he finished fifth.

What made his triumph all the more incredible was this was in a field stacked with top-class athletes that included six of the eight finalists from last year’s Paris Olympics where Lovemore also competed.

“The whole thing with the World Cup that makes it so much tougher is that countries are allowed two boats per country as compared to the world championships where it’s just one boat per country. The big countries like Hungary, Czechia and Germany are able to bring two of their best, which makes getting through the heats a feat of its own, because it’s so tough,” he said.

In the final race Lovemore came up against Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist Josef Dostal (3rd) of Czechia, Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Bálint Kopasz (1st) of Hungary and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Adam Varga (6th) of Hungary.

“My focus going into the competition was the 1000m race. After competing at the Paris Olympic Games last year where I won the B final, finishing ninth overall, with the fourth fastest time, I felt my performances showed I could mix it with the top guys around the world. My initial goal was to make it into the A final and when I reached that I set a new goal of aiming for the top five.

“While the conditions were a little cold I was extremely pleased with my performances. It was my first international race of the year and my first World Cup medal at a senior level in the 1000m event. The level of the competition was so high even when you look at the starting line-up of the A final, it shows how many athletes with pedigree were competing. I love racing, there’s always pressure competing at this level but you live for those moments as an athlete,” he said.

The 25-year-old now turns his attention to the SA Marathon Champs Upington (June 13-15) where he hopes to qualify for another world event, the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor, Hungary.

It is also a busy schedule for the local paddler as his birthday month of August could see him competing in no less than two world events spanning two different disciplines of paddling, canoe sprint and canoe marathon.

Hamish will first compete at The World Games canoe marathon in Chengdu, China in the short course marathon (3.6km) and the full marathon (21km) before heading to Milan, Italy for the ICF Sprint World Championships where he will be competing in the 1000m K1 event.

He could potentially qualify for the Marathon World Championships in Hungary in the first week of September making it six weeks of intense competition.

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