4 August 2003

South African brothers Deon and Sven Bruss won the prestigious Summit Homes Avon Descent in Australia on Sunday, devastating a class field to win the K2 kayak race by a new record victory margin of 37 minutes.

The Greytown siblings completed the 57 kilometre first stage, on a medium level Avon River, in a comfortable first place overall after easily shaking off the challenges from the local and international crews. The Aussie K2 crew of Graham Lawson and Peter Poll were second, well behind the Brusses.

On the long and arduous 75 kilometre second stage that ends in Perth, the Bruss brothers mastered all the rapids before settling down to deal with the strong headwind on the final 20 kilometres of flat water on the Swan river to the finish.

“It feels amazing to win this race, let alone win by a new record margin”, said a tired but elated Sven Bruss from Perth. “On the second stage the K2s start behind the singles, and we caught them quickly. We planned to stay with them through some of the tricky sections, but we found that we were pulling away, so we went it alone”, he added.

The brothers, who paddled the race for the first time, did not make any mistakes on the final stage, and enjoyed the fuller river conditions after heavy overnight rains. They made no mistakes through big rapids like Emu Falls, Bells Rapids and Syds Rapid, before they reached the tidal waters of the Swan River.

“We had enough time to be able to stop for a short break to stretch our legs, before starting the grind into the headwind to the finish”, said Sven Bruss.

The Bruss brothers become the third South African entry in four years to win the race. Wayne Volek won it in a single kayak in 2000, and Martin Dreyer won the K1 race in emphatic style in 2002, beating all the K2 boats overall.

The Brusses earned their trip to the Avon Descent as part of their prize for winning the Hansa Powerade Fish Marathon last year. The Fish is “twinned” with the Avon and Liffey Descent in Ireland, in a programme that sees the winners of these famous races taking part in the reciprocal events.

The brothers next turn their attention to the Liffey Descent in a month’s time, a race that was won by another beneficiary of the “twinning” arrangement, Len Jenkins, last year.

Source: Canoeing South Africa

	Some found it tricky, but the Bruss brother, Deon and Sven, had few problems as they took a dominating win in the Avon Descent.

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