Local canoeist comes third in the 2014 Duzi marathon
Cam has had a great career in canoeing, completing the Dusi seven times and becoming a world marathon K2 champion in 2008 with Ant Stott.
Andrew Mc Fadden)
The Dusi Canoe Marathon is one of the world’s most prestigious races of its kind, and a local lad did very well in this year’s event.
The 2014 Dusi was held from February 13 to 15. This race sees paddlers negotiating the Msunduzi River (commonly referred to as the Dusi River) between Pietermaritzburg and Durban over a total distance of 120km.
This year saw one of our local boys, Cam Schoeman, placing third. Cam is originally from Ladysmith and attended high school in Pietermaritzburg (Maritzburg College). He is still based in Ladysmith and farms cattle with his dad. Cam has had a great career in canoeing, completing the Dusi seven times and becoming a world marathon K2 champion in 2008 with Ant Stott.
In the 2014 Dusi, Cam partnered up with long-time friend Jakub Adam from the Czech Republic. Jakub has taken part in three Dusi’s and completed two. Unfortunately, last year he broke his boat on the second day.
Cam and Jakub met during international races and became good friends in 2008 when they raced each other at the World Marathon Championships, with Cam coming first with Ant Stott and Jakub in third with his long-time Czech paddling partner.
The first Dusi was held on December 22, 1951. Unlike nowadays, the first race was held on a continuous basis, with racers only stopping when they reached the finish. Only eight paddlers took part in the first race. These days, the race is held over a period of three days and participants are required to be completely self-sufficient. With only the help of their ‘seconds’, they must ensure that they keep themselves hydrated and nourished throughout the race. When the Gazette asked Cam about his experience in this year’s Dusi, he said, “The race was very hard and very hot, but it was good fun paddling with Jakub. The training and spending weeks getting ready for the race made it all the more worthwhile. We did running training on Spioenkop hill and paddling down the Tugela River. All in all. we are happy with our results.”
