Local canoeists excel in Vaal River race

Local paddlers excelled in the Vaal River Canoe Marathon on 5 and 6 December.

The two-day 70km race was a seeding event for the upcoming Dusi Canoe Marathon in February – the world’s toughest canoe endurance marathon.

Parkmore resident Alex Roberts finished in second place as the first sub-veteran finisher.

Also, two St David’s Marist College paddlers took podium positions at the event. In the junior category, Connor Erwee finished as the first U18 in 05:53:00 and Nicholas Erwee finished third in the U16 category in 06:39:00.

Jennie Dallas of the Gauteng Canoe Union said with lockdown restrictions, many canoe racing events had been cancelled or postponed, however, with the Dusi taking place at the end of February, training and race points would be vital to river canoeists.

In Gauteng, the Liebenbergsvlei Marathon at the end of November followed by the two-day Vaal River Race in early December and then the two-day Klip River Race scheduled for the end of January would be good training.

According to Dallas, the Vaal River Canoe Marathon is well recognised as a tough grinding slog of a river race. The race is a good source of preparation as the Vaal River is wide and shallow, with sections that have little flow to push canoes.

The start of the event was rainy, overcast and cloudy with low water levels and the Vaal Dam just above 30 per cent.

Connor said he never expected to perform so well at the Vaal.

“It was wonderful to feel good after such a long, hard slog – proof that the tough training during lockdown paid off and as we learn at school, effort produces results,” added Connor.

Roberts said he was pleased with his performance and looked forward to completing his 20th Dusi event this year. He is one of the youngest entrants to complete his 20th event at age 38.

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Local paddlers secure their place at SA Marathon Championships