17 July 2006

Defending champion Hank McGregor proved untouchable over the final stage of the 2006 Isuzu Berg River Canoe Marathon to win one of the world's toughest endurance marathons in a brilliant display of sprint paddling over the last 10-kilometre time trial from Kliphoek to Velddrif.

McGregor, who began the 59-kilometre fourth stage split seconds ahead of Western Cape canoeist Gert van Deventer, ultimately won the race two minutes ahead of the Stellenbosch Canoe Club paddler.

'I'm very stoked'
"I'm very stoked with the win," said McGregor.

"Everything just seemed to go as I hoped it would. Sven (Bruss), Gert, Paul (Marais) and myself got into a group fairly early up front and just worked together like we did yesterday."

"My plan was to maintain my position up until the portage and then try and get a slight lead over Gert," he added.

The race was halted 10 kilometres from the finish where the paddlers had to portage to a rest stop at Kliphoek. From there they were re-started based on their overall elapsed times.

Lead made things fair
"That little lead at the portage made things fair after the re-start," he said. "From there it was every man for himself."

A determined McGregor showed similar form to that which won him the World Marathon Championships in 2004 as he continued to pull away from van Deventer over the final stretch.

"I lost the race on the portage," admitted a moderately disappointed van Deventer.

"My only chance was to try and catch Hank after the re-start and try hang onto his slip wave. I went really hard and managed to get within four seconds of him, but I just couldn’t catch up.

'It's not a sin to lose to Hank'
"It's not a sin to lose to Hank though," he added. "Over this distance I don't think there is anyone in the world who can beat him."

"I'’m obviously a little disappointed. It would've been nice to win, especially after taking this whole year off to focus on canoeing, but overall I'm happy with second place."

An elated Paul Marais finished in third place.

"This is the first time I’ve been on the podium in nine years, so I'm really stoked," he said.

Women's winner
Peninsula Canoe Club paddler, Abbey Miedema took home the Isuzu Berg Marathon's ladies' crown for the second time in her career after another flawless day's paddling.

She crossed the finish line in a time of 04:56:14.

"I'm pleased with the win," said Miedema. "Today was a tough stage. I could possibly have had a better day. On this race you have good days and tough days and today was definitely the hardest for me.

"I would have liked a bit more of a rest at that final time trial," she added. "Normally you get at least a 15-minute break, but as I arrived our bunch were told we had three minutes till we re-started. I was tired and cold. I needed that break."

A frustrating race
It was a frustrating race for the female champion whose hopes of becoming only the second woman to finish in the top- 20 in the 45-year history of the Isuzu Berg Marathon were impaired after some disappointing starts.

"I struggle with the batch starts," said Miedema. "I'm just a bit too slow to keep up with those guy and tend to fall off the bunch.

"When that happens you're in danger of having to paddle the whole day on your own," she added. "I was lucky to find Martin (Fraser-MacKenzie) this morning and we worked together most of the way."

The ongoing battle for second place, which drew most of the attention in the female category, was finally clinched by Kirsty van der Merwe after a solid day's performance. She finished six minutes ahead of her Milnerton Canoe Club rival Jo-Anne Hope.

Impressive
An impressive 144 of the 169 paddlers that braved the start of the four-day endurance marathon from Paarl to Velddrif completed the 242-kilometre course. Peninsula Iron Man contestant Johan Serdyn was one of them.

The Isuzu Berg River Canoe Marathon makes up the final leg of the contest, the other two legs being the Cape Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon.

"The Isuzu Berg is definitely the toughest event of the four," said Serdyn who finished 104th overall.

Aching muscles
"It's really hard. After paddling 60-kilometres you have to get in that boat the next day with aching muscles and paddle another 60-kilometres."

McGregor sympathised with Serdyn's pain. "I've won most of the endurance races around the country and traveled around the world doing these sort of events," he said.

"The Isuzu Berg Marathon is definitely the hardest race I've ever done," he reckoned. "I'm proud to have finished, never mind won it."

RESULTS

Men

	Hank McGregor: first person to win both the Dusi and the Berg River - two of the most difficult canoe marathons in South Africa - in the same year (Photo: Canoeing South Africa)

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	Canoeing South Africa  Isuzu Berg River Canoe Marathon

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