Sandton paddlers take on their 12th marathon
Local residents Steve Stapylton-Smith and Michael Koller recently completed their phenomenal 12th Fish River Canoe Marathon, 80km’s of roaring rapids over two days.
Sandton residents Steve Stapleton-Smith and Michael Koller recently took on challenging rapids to complete their 12th Fish River Canoe Marathon in the Eastern Cape.
According to the Gauteng Canoeing Union’s media liaison Jennie Dallas, the pair journeyed with a number of paddlers from Gauteng to Cradock in the Eastern Cape to gather at the Grassridge Dam for the start of the exciting river race.
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“[The] water release supplies local farmers by arrangement, to fill up their tanks, which creates exciting wave-filled roaring rapids and fast flow and enables paddlers to shoot the various weirs, most with chutes built onto them, without extensive damage from low water rocky sections,” said Dallas.The pair finished the 80km marathon in seven hours and 30 minutes over two days – 16th in the masters’ age category and 70th in the K2 (double two-man kayak).
“They thoroughly enjoyed the Fish [marathon] once again, a very well-organised event where the locals from Cradock pull out all the stops to make the visiting crowds welcome and to host the annual canoeing pilgrimage.
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“The river is always exciting, freezing cold water but clean with fantastic rapids and weirs the entire two days.”
Of the 12th marathons completed by Stapylton-Smith and Koller, they have completed 10 together.
“They are both active sportsmen and Steve [Stapleton-Smith] enjoys gymming, running and canoeing. Mike [Koller] is also a keen polo player [horses] and enjoys mountain biking.”
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