ANDY Birkett and uMdloti’s Hamish Lovemore took home the South African K2 titles over the weekend at the Fish River Canoe Marathon.

It was Birkett’s seventh victory at the Fish River Marathon (including three K2 wins with Greg Louw) and Lovemore’s first win. The two-day race runs from Grassridge Dam to Cradock in the Eastern Cape. The victory capped off an incredible year for Lovemore on the local and international fronts.

In the women’s race, Hilary Bruss and Bridgitte Hartley claimed victory.

Bruss and Hartley were in a class of their own, and despite some errors, the victory was never really in doubt.

Related article: International silver streak for uMdloti paddler

Earlier this year Lovemore won a silver medal in the K1 1000m race at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Cup in Hungary.

He followed that up with two silvers at the World Games in Chengdu, China, in August, and a few days later he won a silver in the K1 5000m at the ICF Sprint World Championships in Milan, Italy.

Not only has he won four silver medals at three inter-national events this year, but he also holds several SA titles at the South African Sprint Canoeing Championships.

It was at that event in April that he won the national title in the 500m K2 race with Birkett.

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