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Record Fish win for Jenkins

Brad Morgan

Len Jenkins stormed home to win his fourth successive Hansa Powerade Fish River Canoe Marathon title at the weekend in a new record time, thus entrenching his status as the undisputed "King of the Fish", while Abbey Miedema took a drama-filled women's race, just missing out on breaking her own race record.

Jenkins started the 36-kilometre final stage from Knutsford to Cradock with a three-minute lead over Hank McGregor and junior Grant van der Walt. However, his intentions to challenge the overall race record were frustrated during the first hour of the race.

'I just couldn't warm up!'
"I just couldn't warm up!" said Jenkins afterwards. "For the first 45 minutes, I was cold, and just could get going."

McGregor and Van der Walt worked together to take a minute out of Jenkins' lead while the defending champion struggled in the chilly Karoo morning.

When he did finally warm up, Jenkins blasted away in dramatic fashion, ripping the heart out of the challengers.

"After a while we realised that trying to catch him was futile," said McGregor afterwards.

Race record
Jenkins flew to the race finish in Cradock, mastering the testing three weirs in the final 10 kilometres, to shave just under two minutes off his own race record. McGregor edged clear of Van Der Walt, whose is still riding the crest of a wave after winning the junior world marathon title in Hungary this month.

While Jenkins wrapped up a flawless race to remain unbeaten in the men's K1 race, the women's race ended in a thrilling tussle that was ultimately decided by mishaps at the weirs in the closing stages of the race.

Up front, Miedema couldn't capitalise on her record-breaking effort on the first stage to pose a threat to the overall race record, but she clinically romped home to win unchallenged, and successfully defended her title in an impressively-calculated race.

Thrown wide open
Behind her, the women's race was thrown wide open when Alexa Lombard, who started the final stage with a four-minute buffer over Czech superstar Michala Mruskova, fell out at Gauging Weir.

While the Capetonian, who had paddled the race nursing an injury to the same shoulder she hurt during this year's Dusi, anxiously swam to the bank to empty her kayak, she watched as Mruskova made the same mistake, and capsized below the weir.

Lombard's grasp on the silver medal, however, dissolved when she fell out for a second time, at Cradock Weir. This time, though, Mruskova made no mistakes and streaked past the hapless Peninsula paddler to claim the second place.

Mixed results
The race produced mixed results for the internationals. German Stephan Stiefenhoefer was the top-placed man from the Team Hansa Powerade International, in ninth, closely followed by teammates Florian Wohlers and Frenchman Rudi Gerard, while Italian ace Jaka Jasbek's charge back into contention ending in a swim at Cradock Weir.

"This is such a difficult race," said Jasbek afterwards. "You need so many skills in addition to being a good flatwater racer...the portaging, shooting the weirs and the rapids, and handling the eddies. And the rapids are much bigger than the Ardeche, for example."

The junior title went to Gauteng star Grant van der Walt, whose overall third place was 20 minutes quicker than second placed Pierre Andre Rabie. Epworth school girl Robyn Kime took the junior girls' title.

After a first stage littered with incidents, the safety crews and paramedics reported no major injuries, despite scores of paddlers having to be assisted after capsizing at Gauging Weir, Marlow Chute and Cradock Weir.

RESULTS

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