K2 win at National Marathon Trials

Shaun and I had a very comfortable race today where we won the end sprint from MacGregor and Van der Walt.
There was a very large bunch of boats when we came into the first portage. As we paddled away from the put-in of the portage there were 2 boats that broke clear of the rest of the field, ourselves and MacGregor’s. The two lead boats gradually edged ahead of the rest of the filed and opened about a 2 minute gap by the finish line. In the bunch sprint for 3rd it was Solomon and White that took the bronze medal.

At this stage it appears that Rubenstein and Jenkins will be the two K1 representatives at the world champs in Portugal in September. The K2’s should be Myself/Rubenstein and Van der Walt/MacGregor.

SA Marathon Championships/Trials K1 results

Todays racing was awesome. After the first portage in the 7 lap race there was a 4 boat break away. The front bunch was made up of Shaun, Hank, Len and myself. The 2nd group who tried really hard for a while to catch us was made up of Schoeman, Van der Walt, King and Rice.
The pace of the race varied throughout but every one of the tough 200m portages was a heated affair.
Coming out of the last portage Hank had the pull for the 200m into the last turn. Shaun was on his wave on the left for the inside of the turn and I was on his right hand wave on the outside. Len after dropping his boat just managed to catch up and sneak back onto the diamond.
Coming out of the last turn with 400m to the line Shaun put in a burst. I tried to attack on the right but Shaun was too strong. This left Hank on his wave on the right, Len on the left hand wave and me having to decide between Hanks 2nd wave or diamond. I chose the diamond for 200m before dropping round and attacking on the left for the final 100m. By this stage everyone was going max. All 4 boats finished within a second with Shaun getting the win, Len a very close 2nd, Hank 3rd and me 4th…
Exciting racing, I’m slightly disappointed with 4th but happy that I felt strong all the way through.
Tomorrow is the k2 where I’ll be hoping to redeem myself.

Ready to race!

With only 5 days remaining until race day the nerves are starting jingle a bit. This year promises to probably be one of the most exciting national marathon trials in the history of South African paddling. The racing takes place on the Keurbooms River in Plettenberg Bay.
I have been feeling really solid in my boat over these last 4 weeks and am now confident in saying that I am 100% race ready. I am expecting some of my toughest races ever in the K1 trail as well as in the K2 trial where I will be teaming up with Shaun Rubenstein.

The K1 race is going to be a hugely heated affair. Shaun raced his last marathon in 2006 where he was crowned World Champion so in theory is undefeated. Another previous World Champ Hank McGregor has just come off a good win in the worlds most prestigious ocean race the Molokai Challenge where he tore apart the world class field. Len Jenkins recently placed 5th in the 5000m World Cup race in Poland where he managed to pip a handful of paddling legends to the line. Current K2 marathon World Champ Cam Schoeman has just returned from a very successful 5 week tour of the European circuit and is hungry for a good K1 result. The confident young Lance King form Cape Town will also be chomping at the bit at the thought of being able to race with the big guns. He is most surely excited to get racing after his 2nd place finish in the SA championships last year. World class junior paddler from previous years Grant Van der Walt has now joined the senior ranks and somehow managed to find form way beyond his years. He won the SA senior surf ski title a short time ago and is really flying on the flat water. After my bronze in the K1 and gold in the K2 World Champs last year I will be doing my utmost to ensure that I am in with a shot at being one of the first 2 boats to cross the finish line on Saturday. At the World Championships in Portugal in September each country is only allowed 2 boats on the start line.

The K2 trials will be held on Sunday. Shaun and I will have to race well in order to attempt to beat crews like the Louw brothers, Hank/Grant, Cam/Stu Waterworth and Solomon/White.

I will be flying to Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning and then taking on the 2hr road trip to Plett.

Durban winters are the best!

There must be very few places in the world where you can paddle in a vest in the middle of winter. In the picture below you’ll see one of our awesome winter sun rises and in the other, the conditions that greeted me when I arrived at the lagoon this afternoon.

Although I am sad that my training partner from the last 3 and a half weeks, Ryan Louw has gone back to Cradock I am happy to say that the sprinters are back from Europe. I’ll be planning to hook up with Mike Arthur and Nic Burden again for some high quality speed sessions.

Well done to the SA Sprint Team!
Our national team did is proud in the last world cup in Szeged, Hungary. Bridgette was amazing with her gold in the 500m K1 and bronze in the 1000m K1. Shaun and Mike were mind blowing with their silver in the 200m K2 and 4th in the 500m K2. It is scary to think that they only jumped in the boat 4 or 5 times before this event. Stu and Cam for making the 1000m K2 A-final. At 18 and 20 years old the world better be ready for a lot of big results from this young combination. Not forgetting the 1000m K4 crew of Greg Louw, Nic Burden, Len Jenkins and Mike Arthur for also making it through to the A-final. Well done team!

Three weeks to D-Day

Happy to be back on track
I am very satisfied with how my training has gone over these past 2 weeks. My chiro Neil Cunningham has been working his magic on my neck and as a result I have once again been able to open up to full throttle.
Ryan Louw has been a great training partner and we have been pushing each other to the max. Ryan and I have also had some great K2 sessions in preparation for the Sella Descent on the 8th August in Spain. Once in Spain we have planned to race in 6 of the races on the circuit together.

SA marathon Trials
There are now exactly 3 weeks left until the SA Marathon trials which will be held in Plett on 27 and 28 June. I was a little worried about my form but am now confident to say that I am 100%back on track and very excited to race. I am feeling very comfortable and in control in my K1 and the K2 this year with Shaun should also be pretty quick.
This year must surely be one of the most hotly contested marathon trials in many years. There are 4 previous senior world champions, a junior world champion, a freak of nature as well as many other super fast athletes lining up.
Some of the names include; Shaun Rubenstein, Hank McGregor, Cam Schoeman, myself, Grant Van der Walt, Len Jenkins, Graeme Solomon, Lance King, Gavin White, Piers Cruickshank, The Louw brothers and Michael Mbanjwa.
The first 2 K1’s and the first 2 K2’s to cross the line will be selected for the national team. The World Marathon Championships 2009 will be held at the end of September in Portugal.

Tomorrow the National sprint team will start racing in the World Cup Sprints in Szeged, Hungary. Mike Arthur and Shaun Rubenstein will be making their debut in the 500m K2 so will be interesting to follow.
Here is the link to the Szeged world cup site.