Champs repeat in Berg Marathon
17 July 2007
Hank McGregor and Abbey Miedema successfully defended their titles in the Isuzu Berg River Canoe Marathon on Sunday after four days and 239 kilometres of racing that provided more thrills and twists than a racy detective novel.
McGregor punched the air in delight on reaching the finish at Velddrif and then held four fingers in the air celebrating his fourth victory in the event, three of them in succession.
Appropriately, he won the end sprint to seal a six-and-a-half minute victory over Len Jenkins, with Graeme Solomons, the 2001 champion, fighting back in spectacular fashion on the last two days to finish third.
'A privilege'
"It was a privilege to be involved in such a great race, with the best river racers in the country," said
McGregor, who paid tribute to Len Jenkins, Sven Bruss and Graeme Solomon with whom he forged a formidable combination on the final two stages to dramatically reshape the leaderboard.
"This is the toughest race in the world, particularly coming so soon after the world marathon champs trials," said McGregor, who never once relinquished his lead or his tactical grip on the race.
After allying himself with the plucky 20-year-old Cape student Lance King, with whom he shared the lead at the midway point of the race, McGregor shook him off in a clinical and brutally effective move on Misverstand Dam that hinged on a breakaway with Jenkins, Solomon and Sven Bruss.
Personal victories
The podium places for Solomon and Jenkins were personal victories for both paddlers who were early victims in the race. Jenkins' three-minute second stage lead crashed to a six-minute deficit in the final half-an-hour of the second stage when he was crippled by
debilitating cramps and then paddled into a dead end channel.
Solomon was a distant seventh after a dismal first stage.
"If you had given me third place at Hermon (in the latter half on the first stage) I would have taken it gladly," said a delighted Solomon, who drove the pace of the breakaway group with fierce determination for two days, including the demanding 75 kilometre second stage.
Emphatic women's winner
Abbey Miedema wrapped up her third win in the Isuzu Berg in a composed and emphatic performance that saw her holding her own with several elite men, and finally finishing 24th overall, and an hour and 10 minutes clear of second placed Kirsty van der Merwe.
"It was a fantastic race," beamed Miedema. "The weather was great, the water was super the whole way, and I ended up racing with some super people."
Sven Bruss took the final bridge hotspot prize in truly bizarre circumstances. He was part of the four-strong breakaway group leading as they approached the Kersefontein Bridge which decided the last cash hot-spot of the race.
Tree block
He was the first to tackle a thick tree block and succeeded in getting through. Behind him McGregor and Jenkins bumped into one another, tipping McGregor out of his kayak. He continued with a boat full of water which contributed to him getting stuck in the same tree block, allowing Bruss to get away unchallenged to take the hotspot a few hundred metres away.
The same section of river tripped up scores of backmarkers who meekly paddled into a dead end channel, forcing them to portage their boats for several kilometres until they found the main channel of the river.
Brett Dorman took the junior title with a solid 25th place overall, while the irrepressible Mynhardt Marais was the first sub-master in 13th overall.
Race veterans
The race was another milestone for Giel van
Deventer and Andre Collins, who extended their joint record by completing their 38th Bergs. Both struggled with shoulder injuries which resulted in extended days on the water, but their indomitable spirit encapsulated the race's die-hards.
Men's champion Hank McGregor summed up the event, which has become the benchmark for endurance paddling, by saying: "Anyone who finishes this race is a winner."
RESULTS
Men
Women
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