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.