FLCC kicks off marathon season

Florida Lake Canoe Club (FLCC) hosted their first flat-water marathon race for the year on Saturday, March 8, kicking off the marathon season for 2025.

According to FLCC media liaison officer Jennie Dallas, the sprint season is already well underway with the Gauteng Canoe Union Sprint Championships hosted at Germiston Lake in February.

“This weekend’s race was in preparation for the South African Canoe Marathon Championships, which is taking place at Roodeplaat Dam in April,” she says.

“The Guppy [juniors] race kicked off at 08:30 and was a 3km course. Paddlers take part using specially designed small boats for U12 juniors.”

Jennie adds that children from as young as five can participate provided they are competent swimmers.

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“The junior age categories range from U6 to U12.”

Once the guppies were safely out of the water, it was time for the main race, which featured a 10km course for the less fit, and a hotly contested 20km course for more advanced paddlers.

Young Breydan Roskin, a U12 junior paddler who has been taking canoeing lessons for a few months, finished in an impressive 11th place in the U12 category in a time of 33:26.

“Some of the guppy paddlers have been racing since the age of eight and have extensive experience, thus making his achievement all the more impressive,” says Jennie.

Ruoxi Hao was the top finisher in the U12 age group, with Aayan Judy taking first in the U8, and Samuel Johnson winning the U10 race.

The 10km race was won by Gunther Grune and Pippa Martin in their K2 (two-seater) kayak in a time of 55:00.

The first K1 (single-seater) finisher was Pretoria’s U14 female canoe sensation Juanne Ericksen.

Stanley Freiman, a grand master (over 60 age group), who has returned to the sport after a break of 10 years, took the win in the 20km race, finishing in an astonishing 01:49:51.

Hot on his heels in second place was sub-veteran racer, Sibusiso Zulu, in a time of 01:49:53.