Record five Drak wins for Stott
28 February 2005
Ant Stott paddled his way into the record books by winning the prestigious Hansa Powerade Drakensberg Challenge canoe marathon for the fifth time on the weekend, while Alexa Lombard overcame a disastrous first stage to retain the women's title impressively.
Stott started the 38-kilometre final stage from Swartberg Road to Hopewell Farm with Dusi champ Hank McGregor right on his tail. The pair were locked together by the time they reached the first gorge, 10 kilometres into the stage.
However, in the big rapids of the Underberg Gorge, Stott managed to make a break and had a useful lead over McGregor when disaster struck.
'I took on a lot of water'
"I almost flipped in one of the last rapids", Stott said. "My splash-cover popped, and I took on a lot of water. I had no choice but to slow right down and pump like crazy to try and get all the water out of my boat before Hank caught me."
The pair safely
negotiated Glenhaven rapid, and worked hard together through the next 10 kilometres of predominantly flat water. "I was really scared that the race was going to come down to an end sprint, as Hank is really strong there", Stott said.
However, he used his in-depth knowledge of the river to make another break in the big rapids of the Lower Gorge. "I was able to get away, little by little in each rapid, until I had a lead of 60 metres coming out of Heaven and Hell rapid", Stott said. "I realised then that was my best chance to get away from Hank, and really put my ears back and went."
With the four-time champ tearing downriver for the finish, McGregor wasn't able to mount a challenge, and finished second a minute behind.
Nail-biting women's finish
The women's race provided a nail-biting finish. Cape star Alexa Lombard set the early pace, after the leading women all started in a batch together, with Joburg paddler Kirsty van der Merwe
leading by three-and-a-half minutes after two swims on the first day had robbed Lombard of the lead.
Lombard steadily built up an advantage through the rough waters of the Underberg Gorge, and could afford the luxury of portaging the dangerous Glenhaven Rapid, as her seconds were keeping her informed of her lead over the other women contenders.
"I got to the finish and started my stopwatch", Lombard said. "I knew that Carol Joyce had enjoyed a great day, and she made up some time on me by shooting Glenhaven successfully.
"It was only when I realised that I was ahead of Carol and Kirsty van der Merwe overall that I was able to celebrate."
Landmark prize money decision
The terrific scrap on the technical river for the women's title underscored the landmark decision to award equal prize money to both the men's and women's winners.
The race was held in near perfect medium/full conditions on the Umzimkulu River, and saw a new
record entry take to the river in K1 and K2 kayaks.
The technically demanding opening 10 kilometres through the Valley of a Thousand Rapids left plenty of broken boats and paddles lining the banks.
Overnight rains saw the river rise one foot for the final leg, creating perfect river conditions under cool overcast skies.
Summary Of Results
Men
1. Ant Stott 3:40.38
2. Hank McGregor 3:41.43
3. Shaun Biggs 3:44.32
4. Clint Pretorius 3:48.10(1st u21)
5. Darryl Bartho 3:49.52
Women
1. Alexa Lombard 4:19.45
2. Carol Joyce 4:21.19
3. Kirsty van der Merwe 4:24.44
4. Laurel Whitton 4:34.44
5. Hillary Pitchford 4:34.54
Source: Canoeing South Africa
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