8 September 2003

A high-risk gamble paid handsome dividends for Jacques Theron and Len Jenkins, as they became the new South African K2 River Champions on Sunday. After battling with their end sprint at the end of the first stage, they swopped seats overnight, and with Theron sitting in front of the K2 kayak for the first time, they blasted away from their competition to win the race on the final stage.

The Theron/Jenkins crew was first across the finish line after a thrilling three-way tussle for control of the Men's Health/New Balance Breede River Canoe marathon, raced over two days and 80km between Robertson and Swellendam.

They squeaked across the finish line three-hundredths of a second ahead of overnight leaders Ant Stott and Graeme Solomon, with the classy Stellenbosch crew of siblings Chris and Gert van Deventer in third, a slim two-hundredths of a second further back.

“We couldn’t work out why we had been beaten so badly in the end sprint at the end of the first stage”, said Theron afterwards. “So we decided to gamble, and I sat in front, for the first time ever, for the second day. By halfway it was starting to click, and we realised we had what it would take to win this race”, he added.

Crucial tactic
The crucial tactical decider came at the Swellendam weir, which last year also decided the outcome of the race. “We realised that we had to get over the weir first”, said Theron. Below the weir they led the four boat front bunch through a technical series of channels, before kicking into top gear for the final two kilometres of flat water to the finish.

“It feels great to win, because the standard of the competition was so high this year. Ant (Stott) and Graeme (Solomon) are going really, really well, and I am sure they will have a great race at the World Marathon Champs in three weeks time”, said Jenkins afterwards.

The ladies’ race was just as evenly poised, with the two class crews in the race, Alexa Lombard and Nicky Mocke, and Abbey Miedema and Kim Rew racing neck-and-neck, until disaster struck Miedema and Rew at the Waterfall rapid, the biggest obstacle on the course.

They misjudged the rapid and capsized, giving Lombard and Mocke the break they needed to streak away to a five-minute victory. Juniors Zaren Courtney and Simon van Gysen added another title to the impressive Western Province haul at the event by winning the Boys’ race in twelfth-place overall from KZN contenders Jonno Biggs and Craig Mustard.

Western Province comfortably won the provincial team competition.

Summary of Results

Men

	Len Jenkins teamed up with Jacques Theron to become the 2003 South African K2 River Champions

	Dreyer, Miedema take Dusi 2003 Stott, Bruss take Umkomaas 2003 Theron takes Berg River 2003 Bruss brothers win Down Under McGregor is the K1 king Canoeing, rafting & kayaking in SA

	Canoeing South Africa