McGregor, Mocke tame Breede

2008-09-07 18:13

Swellendam - Hank McGregor and Dawid Mocke won the Canon Breede River Canoe Marathon, and with it the national K2 river championships, in a thrilling race on a flooded Breede River that was ultimate decided by a tactical gamble in the closing minutes of the race.

Racing against two determined local crews of Heinrich Schloms and Ernest Van Riet and Paul Marais and Greg Barnard, McGregor and Mocke opted for a slightly wider channel shortly after negotiating the Swellendam weir, while the two Cape crews gambled on a smaller sneak channel on the inside.

"After finishing the first day we came and tripped the last 6km because we knew that is where the race would be decided," said McGregor.

"The channel we took was wider but faster, and when we saw the Cape guys going for the sneak we went for it and got a twenty meter lead which we pushed to around eighty metres and then managed to keep that lead all the way to the finish."

The returning Olympians Jen Hodson and Carol Joyce wrapped up the women's title in an emphatic showing that tested their lack of long distance training. The Beijing games stars raced alone for virtually the entire race to secure the SA K2 women medals.

"Our second day was much better," said Hodson. "We settled down and got used to the boat moving around, and we were able to put more power into our paddles. We tried to prevent the guys behind us from catching us, which was a fun incentive.

"It was such a big adjustment for us," said Joyce. "You have to use your stabilisers so much more, you have to lower your stroke and use a different technique. But it has been so much fun being back on the river after such a long layoff. It has been amazingly rewarding to be able to be sociable, and to be able to enjoy short term goals, which we don't have sprinting where you have one big race a year."

- SAPA