uMdloti resident paddles to SA title
Hamish Lovemore began his journey towards the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 at the South African Sprint Championships.
UMDLOTI resident Hamish Lovemore shone at the South African Sprint Championships recently, beginning his journey to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Lovemore dominated over the three-day championships held on Roodeplaat Dam, and won three of his K1 races, the 1000m, 500m and 5000m.
He then teamed up with Denmark’s Jonathan Dagnaes to win the K2 500m in the event at the end of March.
Lovemore is now in Spain on a training camp.
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He was almost five seconds clear of Dagnaes in the 1000m event, the race he hopes to compete in at LA28, and thus the focus on his training for the next two years. Add in a convincing win in the 500m and 5000m events, and it looks as if his early-season form is on track.
The championships were the designated trial events for teams to compete in three international regattas. The 26-year-old had a sterling 2025, winning four silver medals at three international events.
He won a silver medal in the K1 1000m race at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Cup in Hungary and followed that up with two silvers at the World Games in Chengdu, China, in August, and a silver in the K1 5000m at the ICF Sprint World Championships in Milan, Italy.
“The challenge is to get myself back to this same level this year as the 2028 Olympic qualifiers take place across the world. I would love to have the chance to once again represent South Africa at the Olympics,” he said.
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Lovemore represented Team South Africa at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in the flatwater canoe sprint events in both the K2 500m and K1 1000m.
“The level of talent at the Olympics is insane. Qualifying for the games is a massive opportunity because every athlete knows what it means to compete at the highest level at the biggest event in the world,” he said.
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