CRADOCK — The Durban duo of Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt rewrote the record books at the Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon as they wrapped up a fourth successive K2 title on a Saturday. Women’s overnight leaders Abby Adie and Anna Adamová enjoyed an unchallenged second stage to claim the women’s title.
McGregor and Van der Walt started over four minutes ahead of overnight second place holders Ben Biggs and Alasdair Glass, and succeeded in maintaining their advantage throughout the 36 km stretch from Knutsford to Cradock to eventually cross the line in 4:48.07.
“We had a faultless day, it was a bit lonely and pretty cold, but we just looked to keep things conservative and not try to be heroes and it all paid off in the end,” said McGregor.
While McGregor and Van der Walt were untouchable up front, the countless to-ing and fro-ing among their chasers kept the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout.
A brave Biggs and Glass tried their best to hang onto their second place, however, pre-race title hopefuls Len Jenkins and Greg Louw, and top international duo of Tobias Bong of Germany and Tomáš Slovák of Czech Republic, had other plans as they quickly reeled in the day one fairytale pair.
Having charged through the field after starting the day in fifth, Bong and Slovák proceeded to storm straight past Jenkins and Louw and into a probable second place finish, until disaster struck at the notorious Cradock Weir.
“We caught Len [Jenkins] and Greg [Louw] and stayed with them for a while before we managed to open up a 30-second lead going into Cradock Weir,” said Slovák. “Unfortunately we had some bad luck there though and swam.”
With Bong and Slovák’s misfortune, it was Fisher King Jenkins and local lad Louw who ultimately claimed the silver medal after an improved day compared to Friday’s opening stage.
In the women’s race, Adie and Adamová showed a clean pair of blades to their chasers Robyn Kime and Bridgitte Hartley as they cruised to victory, Adie’s second K2 win in a row, having claimed the 2011 women’s title with Hilary Pitchford.
The win was also the ideal 24th birthday present for Adie. “I couldn’t have asked for a better present,” she beamed afterwards.
Adamová, who recently claimed a K2 bronze and K1 silver medal at the Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen, added gold to her repertoire — a memorable result for the Czech Republic competitor.
Kime and Hartley eventually claimed silver with overnight fourth placed duo Jenna Ward and Kerry Segal moving up one spot to claim the bronze medal and break Ward’s Fish fourth-place hoodoo.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
DAY TWO TIMES AND OVERALL TIMES
Men: 1. Hank McGregor/Grant van der Walt 2:01.27 4:48.07
2. Len Jenkins Jnr/Greg Louw 2:00.26 4.52.00
3. Tomas Slovák (CZE)/Tobias Bong (GER) 2:01.06 4:54.02
4. Brandon van der Walt/Stuart Maclaren (U23) 2:02.13 4:54.30
5. Ben Biggs/Alisdair Glass 2:04.17 4:55.06
Women
1. Abby Adie/Anna Adamová (CZE) 2:10.57 5:17.09
2. Robyn Kime/Bridgette Hartley 2:12.47 5:21.16
3. Jenna Ward/Kerry Segal (U23) 2:21.12 5:38.45
4. Hilary Pitchford/Brittany Petersen 2:23.54 5:42.41
5. Danica Bartho/Michelle Burn 2:25.36 5:43.02
U23 Men
1. Brandon van der Walt/Stuart Maclaren 2:02.13 4:54.30
2. Ivan Kruger/Valentin Henot 2:02.51 4:58.04
3. Richard Hala (CZE)/Jonatan Sramek 2:04.00 5:05.27
U23 Women
1. Jenna Ward/Kerry Segal 2:21.12 5:38.45
2. Candice Murray/Anna Notten 2:43.54 6:22.19
3. Jenna Starr/Julia Trodd 2:39.41 6:30.48
Junior Mens
1. Louis Hattingh/Bryan Leroux 2:06.40 5:07.06
2. Travis Wilson/Tyler Wilson 2:07.15 5:07.42
3. Damon Stamp/Mthobisi Cele 2:12.48 5:20.03
Junior Girls
1. Jordan Peek/Cana Peek 2:28.10 6:00.27
2. Bianca Haw/Charlotte Lovemore 2:32.06 6:09.03
3. Sarah Harries/Jordan Taylor 2:36.17 6:16.24.
